The pool of poor schoolchildren from the Other Backward Classes and religious minorities who are eligible for two government scholarships has been drastically cut short from this year. The Centre has revised two schemes — the Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBCs and the Pre-Matric Scholarship for minorities — by limiting eligibility to students of Classes IX and X, and only those enrolled in government schools.
Till now, both scholarships were available to students of Classes I to X, at government, aided and private schools. The earlier 2017-18 guidelines for the OBC scholarship from the social justice and empowerment ministry offered Rs 100 per month for 10 months a year to day scholars from Classes I to X, and Rs 500 a month to hostel boarders from Classes III to X for 10 months a year. Each student was eligible also for a lumpsum grant of Rs 500 a year.
The family income cut-off for eligibility was Rs 2.5 lakh a year. Under the revised guidelines, OBC students of Classes IX and X at government schools will receive Rs 4,000 a year. The income cut-off remains unchanged at Rs 2.5 lakh, without adjustment for inflation. On Wednesday, CPM Rajya Sabha member John Brittas asked why the ambit of the Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBCs had shrunk.
In a written reply, social justice minister Virendra Kumar cited the provision for free and compulsory education under the Right To Education (RTE) Act as the reason. “This has been done in order to rationalise the scholarship as per the following: i. The RTE Act 2009 makes it obligatory for the government to provide free and compulsory elementary education (Class I to VIII) to each and every child. Accordingly only students studying in Classes IX and X are covered under the pre-matric scholarship scheme for OBC. ii. The amount of scholarship has been increased and made uniform to day scholars and hostellers,” Kumar said.
While the amount for day scholars has jumped from Rs 1,000 a year to Rs 4,000, that for hostel boarders seems to have fallen from Rs 5,000 a year. The RTE Act came into force in April 2010 but the Centre had till now continued with the OBC scholarship for students of Classes I to X as an incentive and also as a way of covering the non-tuition-fee costs of education. The 2017-18 guidelines had stressed the disparity between OBCs and advanced castes.
“It is felt that earnest efforts are required to introduce various new schemes, especially for these target groups i.e. backward classes to provide them a level playing field in comparison to non-backward sections of the population,” the guidelines said. Brittas told The Telegraph outside Parliament: “The disparity between OBCs and the general community continues till today. Four years ago, this government felt the need for scholarships for OBC children from Classes I to X to provide them a level playing field. Now it is going back on that. This is a U-turn in policy.”
G. Karunanidhy, secretary of the All India OBC Employees Federation, said the latest revision would lead many OBC students to drop out of school. “The government has a target to increase the gross enrollment rate in higher education from 27 per cent now to 50 per cent in 2035. How can that happen when you are withdrawing (shrinking) the scholarship for OBC (schoolchildren)?” he said.
The Pre-Matric Scholarship for minority students was provided to those with parental income below Rs 1 lakh a year. The scheme aimed at providing 30 lakh fresh scholarships every year, 30 per cent of them to girls. Day scholars from Classes I to X received Rs 100 a month and hostel boarders from Classes VI to X received Rs 350 a month towards tuition fees plus a maintenance allowance of Rs 600 a month.
While the scope has now been limited to students of Classes IX and X — and at government schools only — it could not be ascertained what the new amounts and income cut-off will be.
A Class IX student sits with a javelin stuck to his neck during an annual sports meet of a school in Odisha’s Balangir on Saturday. The accident occurred when the students of Agalpur Panchayat High School were practising different sporting events on the school field before the start of the sports meet.
The victim, Sadananda Meher, was watching the practice when the javelin thrown by a student accidentally hit his neck. It struck below the chin and Sadananda fell to the ground. The school authorities immediately rushed him to the Bhim Bhoi Medical College and Hospital in Bolangir.
After a CT scan, the javelin was removed. Expressing concern over the plight of the boy, chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced that all expenses for his treatment would be met from the chief minister’s relief fund. (PTI picture)
