5 lakh SC, ST students deprived of scholarships will get them before Diwali: UP CM

LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Friday that the state government has arranged funds to disburse scholarships to nearly five lakh students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who were previously left out due to institutions failing to upload their data on time. He said it resulted in the data being locked and assured that all deprived students will receive their scholarships before Diwali.

According to a press statement, the announcement was made during a scholarship distribution ceremony organised at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, where CM Yogi personally handed out scholarships to several students. "The plan has been prepared to give scholarships to such students before Diwali," Adityanath said. "All students deprived of scholarships will have the funds sent to their accounts before Diwali. Furthermore, accountability will be fixed for those whose actions prevented students from receiving the scholarship so that such errors do not occur in the future."

The chief minister emphasised the importance of education for economic progress. "The scale of economic progress of any country and state begins with education," he said, adding, "In such a scenario, providing better education to students is our responsibility." Adityanath highlighted major discrepancies in the scholarship system before the BJP started governing the state. "Before 2017, scholarships were distributed, but they did not reach the students' accounts. There was arbitrariness in this," he said.

Also read 89 lakh drop in SC, ST, OBC scholarship beneficiaries; experts blame Aadhaar link, tech glitches, delays

"The scholarship that students should have received in September-October would reach them by March-April. There was also discrimination in this. In 2016, the scholarships for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students were not distributed at all," he added. The chief minister said that after his government came to power in 2017, it addressed these past failures. "When our government came in 2017, we gave the scholarships for the year 2016-17 and 2017-18 to every single child in the state."

Scholarships for students

Currently, the Social Welfare Department is providing scholarships to four lakh students from the SC/ST and General categories from Classes 9 to 12. In the first phase, 1.12 lakh students are receiving benefits. Additionally, over 2.5 lakh students are benefitting through the Backward Class Welfare Department and 25,000 students through the Minority Welfare Department.

Addressing the students, CM Yogi urged them to prepare for future leadership and resist divisive forces. "The leadership of the coming generation is in your hands; be mentally prepared for it now," he advised. "You have to think now about what kind of India we want. Remember, divisive forces had enslaved the country." He added a sharp political note, saying, "Some people are once again becoming an obstacle for a self-reliant and developed India by dividing the society."

Adityanath concluded his address to the students with a call for unity. "Our effort should be to not get divided; we must unite and take every student to school for better education. We must connect every student and deprived person with school education and strive for the enhancement of their education." The chief minister appealed to all institutions to upload the data of remaining students so that they can receive their scholarship benefits before Diwali.