Punjab: In yet another attempt to put education at forefront, it has been announced that 2.5 lakh Scheduled Caste (SC) students will get post-matric scholarships. The initiative comes at a time when the number of SC students in the post-matric scholarship have declined severely. As per the data collected over the last four years, this year’s enrolment has shown an unprecedented growth.
In comparison to enrolment of 1.5 lakh students in 2020, the enrolment this year could touch the mark of 2.50 lakh students. Earlier in 2017, approximately three lakh students were benefited from this scheme.
Application portals to remain open till March
By putting the scholarship back on track, the government has kept the scholarship portals open, which, otherwise, were closed in September every year. With no official orders to close the admission portal anytime soon, the duration for the beneficiaries can be extended up to March. “The increase in SC students admissions will also benefit private educational institutions”, said a senior functionary.
The scheme, which has been sponsored by the Centre came to an end in 2016-2017 as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan. The scheme was again begun with a sharing ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and the state.
For the upcoming session, 2.44 lakh students had applied and near 2.10 lakh applications have been verified, while the remaining are in the process. Meanwhile, the government continues t push students to get the maximum benefit under this scheme.
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Scholarship funds under process: Baljit Kaur
Baljit Kaur, the minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, had revealed that the Central government deposited Rs 110.83 crore as its share under the scheme into the account of the department on January 27. She said that action regarding portal Public Financial Management System Integrate is currently being scanned by the government. The Central government will release its share of 60 per cent only after the Rs 110 crore is credited into accounts of the 1 lakh beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the 40 per cent share by the state share government would be released upon verification of the applicants on the scholarship portal.
As the Chief Minister’s office is monitoring the progress of the disbursal of funds, CM Bhagwant Mann had called a meeting to review the delay in disbursal of the scholarship funds. However, it was postponed.
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