BHUBANESWAR: After drawing flak from different quarters, the State government on Sunday announced that there will be no cut in post-matric scholarships given to SC/ST students for higher studies.
A release issued from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said the SC and ST students will avail the post-matric scholarship as per the existing provisions.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed the ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department to put the resolution on this matter issued on Saturday on hold and immediately return the file to the CMO for a detail review. The government has slashed the scholarships provided to the BTech students from Rs 60,000 to Rs 25,000, while the scholarship for MTech students has been reduced from Rs 66,000 to Rs 25,000.
Similarly, scholarship for Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) has been slashed from Rs 45,000 to `25,000, while that of Master of Computer Applications (MCA) has been cut from Rs 40,000 to Rs 25,000. Cuts in the scholarships have also been made in several other courses. The decision of the government to slash the scholarship money had come in for severe criticism. Sources said though the decision to slash the scholarship amount had been taken earlier, it was notified only on the day of the bypolls to Balasore Sadar and Tirtol Assembly constituency on November 3.
The post-matric scholarship programme for SC, ST and OBC students is a Centrally-funded scheme implemented by the state governments. However, the fund flow has now reduced because of the tight financial situation forcing the State government to cut the scholarship amount. Sources said the post-matric scholarship scheme for SC students is being underfunded. The number of beneficiaries under the scheme has decreased from 5.8 million in 2016-17 to 3.3 million in 2018-19.
The inadequate budget allocation is because of the gap between the funds demanded by the Social Justice and Empowerment department and those approved by the Ministry of Finance. In 2019-20, the department had asked for Rs 7,125 crore but got an allocation of Rs 2,927 crore, a shortfall of Rs 4,198 crore. Budget for the the post-matric ST scholarship has also decreased similarly.
Reduced amount
BTech: From Rs 60,000 to Rs 25,000
MTech: From Rs 66,000 to Rs 25,000
BMS: From Rs 45,000 to Rs 25,000
MCA: From Rs 40,000 to Rs 25,000