BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to further consolidate his position among tribals and Scheduled Castes communities, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced increase of pre-matric scholarship for tribal and Dalit students which is likely to cost the State exchequer an additional Rs 100 crore per annum.
The hike in scholarships will be applicable to both boarders and day scholars. While the monthly scholarship for boys staying in hostels and studying from classes I to X has been enhanced from Rs 600 to Rs 750, the same for girl students has been raised to Rs 800 from Rs 630.
Similarly, for day scholars studying from classes VI to VII, the scholarship amount has been increased to Rs 180 per month, while that for girls it has been increased to Rs 240. The scholarship amount has been enhanced to Rs 240 per month for boy day scholars studying from classes VIII to XI and Rs 300 for girls.
About 29 lakh tribal and Dalit students pursue their studies in schools run by School and Mass Education and ST and SC Development departments.
The decision to hike the scholarship amount for ST and SC students came days after raising the reservation of seats in educational institutions for them.
The State Government has announced a hike in reservation for ST and SC students in higher educational institutions from 20 per cent to 38.75 per cent. The hike will be applicable from 2015-16 academic year.
The SC students, who had 8 per cent reservation of seats, will avail 16.25 per cent seats in a college while reservation for ST students has been increased from 12 per cent to 22.5 per cent.