Revised scholarship scheme for SC students will ensure greater educational access: PM Modi

The Centre on Wednesday announced changes in the centrally sponsored post-matric scholarship scheme for the Scheduled Caste students. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved changes in the scheme which is said to benefit more than four crore Scheduled Caste students in the next five years and approved a total investment of over Rs 59,000 crore for the purpose. 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking to Twitter hailed the Cabinet's decision. 

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'Poorest Students would be brought back into the education system' 

The government aims to bring Scheduled Caste students who dropped out due to financial challenges back into the education system as the scheme allows students to pursue any course from class 11, with the government providing for the cost of education.

“A campaign will be launched to enroll the students, from the poorest households passing the 10th standard, in the higher education courses of their choice. It is estimated that 1.36 crore such poorest students, who are currently not continuing their education beyond 10th standards, would be brought into the higher education system in the next 5 years,” the statement said.

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“The scheme will be run on an online platform with robust cybersecurity measures that would assure transparency, accountability, efficiency, and timely delivery of the assistance without any delay. The states will undertake fool-proof verification of the eligibility, caste status, Aadhaar identification, and bank account details on the online portal,” it added.

Out of the total investment of Rs 59,048 crore approved by the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 60 per cent, which amounts to Rs 35,534, would be spent by the Centre and the rest by the state government. “This replaces the existing ‘committed liability’ system and brings greater involvement of the Central government in this crucial scheme. The focus of the scheme would be on enrolling the poorest students, timely payments, comprehensive accountability, continuous monitoring, and total transparency,” an official statement said.

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(With PTI Inputs)