Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 1: PM’s Special Scholarship Scheme is on the verge of defeat as the career of the several J&K students, which were selected in management quota under PM’s Special Scholarship Scheme (SSS) for various professional courses outside the State, is hanging in balance, due to non- release of funds.
A delegation of parents of such students visited Excelsior and shared their woes. They alleged that when the scheme was introduced in 2010-11, some guidelines were issued by HRD Ministry in which the illegible income slab of the families of students was Rs 4.50 lakh annually, which is at present 6 lakh and that time there was no restriction of “management quota”. But later when students got selected and took admissions in various institutions some of them under management quota, the Ministry of HRD issued fresh guidelines and put the restriction that no scholarship will be given to the students selected under management quota.
They alleged that when the students were selected for PMs Scholarship an amount of Rs 31.9 crore was deposited in the official accounts of the institutions without informing the students. But it is shocking that the entire sanctioned amount of Rs 31.9 crore is lying undisbursed in the official accounts of the concerned institutions till date due to the rider of “management quota” put by the Ministry of HRD, they added.
“The issue was also discussed in the State Legislative Assembly and the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had assured the Assembly that ‘management quota’ students shall be provided one time settlement and he has already discussed the issue with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, but nothing was done on the ground”, they maintained.
Now when our students are in final year of their course, the college authorities are threatening the students to pay the full fees or leave the institution, they said.
“We were unknown of the Government’s revised guidelines which deny scholarship amounts to the students selected under management quota that is why we sent our children for higher studies outside the State”, said father of a student, who is pursuing BDS third year at Bhojia Dental College, Baddi Solan in Himachal Pradesh under management quota.
I am already burdened with huge loans, which I have taken from the banks for repayments of the fees of my daughter children and now the HRD Ministry’s rider of management quota has become hurdle in releasing the scholarship amount in our children’s favour.
Therefore, we urge the PM to intervene immediately and disburse scholarship in favour of students already admitted in management quota under this scheme otherwise nobody will believe upon the Government and its policies, he added.
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