Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Commission for Minorities held that banks do not have the authority to set academic criteria. The rights body also warned the banks to cease the practice of denying educational loans over academic criteria.

The commission was adjudicating a complaint against Kerala Gramin Bank (KGB).

According to the commission, if an educational institute has approved the admission of a student, then the bank should give a loan to the person based on the mandates in the rule book. Academic criteria do not come under the ambit of the bank and should not be considered as a mandate. The Commission chairman Adv. A.A. Rasheed noted that the practice of denying educational loans over academic criteria cannot be entertained, and it should be stopped.