KOCHI: Sarkare, with whose money did you buy your cars?’
‘Which brand did you buy?’
‘Was it Benz?’
Asks the fed-up students, who have been running from pillar to post trying to get the grants allocated to them for higher education. With the money being a no-show and promises turning empty, the students and activists along with organisations such as Adi Shakti Summer School took out a protest in front of the Secretariat and Raj Bhavan in the capital on July 27 — one of the many they organised in the past one year.
“And where’s the solution,” asks M Geethanandan, coordinator of the e-grantz Protection Council. For the past two and a half years, the students from Dalit and tribal communities have not received even a penny of the e-grantz. According to him, the issue has gone beyond the non-disbursement of the grants. “There is the issue of the upper-income limit set for those eligible for it,” Geethanandan adds.
He explains the issue regarding the fixation of the upper-income limit. At present, there is an upper-income limit set for eligibility to avail e-grantz is Rs 2.5 lakh. This has been proposed in the Central Guideline as the eligibility criteria for students from Schedule Castes applying for a post matric scholarship. The guideline was set by the department of social justice and empowerment for the period of 2020-21 to 2025-26.
However, Reshma K R, a BEd student says the condition of upper-limit is discriminatory as it negates the constitutional provisions ensured in Article. 15(4).
“The Constitution assures education support for all socially and educationally backward-class citizens, especially the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, the condition imposed divides the Scheduled Caste list passed by the Parliament based on economic criteria,” she explains.
Rising no of drop-outs
According to Reshma, one of the reasons behind the increasing drop-out rate of SC/ST students in the higher education sector is financial backwardness. “After the disbursement of e-grantz turned out be a no-go, six of my classmates dropped out. I too was on the verge of dropping out. However, my teachers helped me out and this enabled me to continue my education,” she adds.
According to Geethanandan, till January, more than 100 students have dropped out in 2023-24. The new education policy is also adding to the existing issue, he says. In recent years, there have been many changes in the disbursal of post matric Scholarships as part of the New Education Policy.
“The changes being implemented in the UG/PG programmes and other sectors have led to an increase in the fee structure, besides other expenses. Hence, it raises new challenges, including more financial burden for the SC/ST students. In the absence of remedial measures, the drop-out rate will increase during the implementation period of the NEP,” Geethanandan says.
That is why, seeking an intervention in the matter, the students marched to the Raj Bhavan on Saturday, he says. “We pointed out that the disbursal of scholarship has been delayed for more than two years due to the non-compliance of the guideline, the diversion of the SC Development Fund, delayed payments and unscientific payment mode of both state and Union governments,” he explains.
No solution
Students say that this year, another problem has cropped up — getting the ‘freeship card’. According to Reshma, both the guidelines and the order issued by the State Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Department mention a ‘freeship card’ that enables students to secure admission without paying tuition and hostel fees upfront. A solution that was envisaged due to the delay in grant disbursement.
“However,” Geethanandan says, “students are unable to register for the card due to technical glitches. One has to upload an Aadhaar card and bank account statement for the purpose into the relevant site. The issue is that the website is not accepting the uploads in any format. Something is very wrong.”
Not enough for hostel
The students also point out that even the amount given as hostel fee is nominal.
“At a time when the fee structure has been increased exponentially to be in tandem with inflation, the grant remains the same,” says Sathisree, who just completed her MSW course.
“To stay in a college hostel, the government pays us `3,500, while it is `3,000 for accommodation outside the campus. It should be noted that `3,000 is given to ST students. For students in the SC category, the amount is `1,500 if they want to get accommodation outside the campus.”
Both Reshma and Sathisree point out that these amount allocated for both categories are too low. For example, take Ernakulam, Reshma says. “In a top-level college, the hostel fee comes between `7,000 and `8,000. Now, you can understand the difference!” they say.
For a student coming from a financially backward family, coming up with the remaining amount is a huge task. “They end up not getting a space in the college hostel and are then forced to look outside,” says Manikandan, coordinator of Adi Shakti Summer School.
Now, many would say there are post-matric hostels to cater to the accommodation needs of these students, he adds. “However, such hostels are very few. In total, there are four post-matric hostels in the entire state. One in Ernakulam (women’s), two in Thiruvananthapuram (one men’s and one women’s) and one in Kozhikode (men’s).”
But the number of students is much higher and what these hostels can accommodate. Adding to Manikandan’s point, Sathisree says, “There have been situations when we had to intervene on behalf of many students and help them find accommodation after they were turned away by the colleges and couldn’t afford facilities outside the campus.”
The issue has grown multiple heads and needs a proper solution, says Geethanandan. “Without a sustainable solution, more and more students will drop out,” he adds.
And it’s not a favour, say the students. After all, “E-grantz is not alms! It is our Constitutional right,” they assert.
CAG finds discrepancies
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report on the pre- and post-matric schemes for SC/ST and minority students found some issues. “A survey has not been conducted to identify the potential beneficiaries. The state has lost Rs 96.65 lakh for the period 2017-22 due to non-claiming of administrative expenses from the Central Government,” says the report. It also found that there has been a delay of up to five years in the payment of scholarships through the e-Grantz portal.
‘Disbursal is going on’
The e-Grantz is being paid to the beneficiaries, says the additional director of the Directorate of SC/ST Development. “There is no delay. Only some more students are left. They too will get the amounts soon. As for the insufficiency of the hostel fee, it needs to be decided at the government-level,” he says.