Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has approved enhancement of scholarship amount for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) students, studying in classes 9th and 10th, to ₹3,500 from the existing ₹3,000 from the current financial year itself.
Besides, it also decided to dole out scholarships to the children of sanitation workers, who are enrolled in classes 9 and 10. The scheme, which was announced for the first time, is available to families from all income groups.
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Opposition parties in the state termed the decision to enhance the ambit and amount of the scholarship under electoral compulsions ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the state. They alleged that it might be another ‘jumla’ as the scholarships sanctioned earlier are not being paid to the students for want of fund. Leaders of the INDIA bloc said that the belated decision won’t, however, help NDA woo the SC/ST and the poor communities, who had suffered a lot during the Narendra Modi regime.
The education department has set up a system through which personal details of students will be fetched automatically from Aadhar numbers. “Students will no longer have to fill out personal details on the application form. Details such as the student’s name, father’s name, date of birth, and more will be automatically obtained from Aadhar,” said a senior officer of the education department.
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Scores obtained by students from CBSE and ICSE boards will also be available online, reducing the chances of errors during the application process. This change will allow more students to benefit from the scheme.
The officials said that students from the SC/ST categories can apply for the scholarship until March 31 for classes 11, 12, and other higher-level courses. This means that even if the exam results or the academic year get delayed, students can still apply for scholarships.
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The officials also clarified that the students, who claimed the scholarship in non-professional courses like BSc or BA, can also avail of scholarships in professional courses like B Tech and others. However, the students, who avail the scholarship facilities, must have to mark their attendance in the schools or institutes through biometric system for authenticity from the next fiscal.
Students between the ages of 12 and 20 in classes 9 and 10 will benefit from scholarships, and students pursuing higher education in classes 11, 12, and other higher education will be able to get the benefit of scholarships up to the age of 40.
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Regular students hailing from underprivileged sections enrolled in classes 9 and 10, whose parents or guardians are sanitation workers engaged in manual scavenging, waste collection, or rag picking in hazardous conditions, will also be eligible for scholarships. However, such students need to provide evidence (a certificate) of their parents’ or guardians’ involvement in sanitation work. The certificate can be issued by a local body, municipal corporation, municipality, or authority authorized by the state government.
