Maharashtra cabinet hikes hostel allowances for tribal students, to set up centre of excellence in colleges

The Maharashtra Cabinet has increased the allowance of dalit and tribal students who are eligible for hostel accommodation but are unable to secure admission. The Cabinet also approved a hike in the honorarium of employees working in government-aided hostels for Scheduled Caste (SC) students.

The decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Moreover, the Maharashtra cabinet has also approved a new programme named CM-SRISTHI (Scheme for Research, Innovations and Technological Hubs In Higher Education Institutions) to establish centres of excellence in state universities and technical institutes to promote research, innovation, IT development and industry linkages.

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SC, Neo-Buddhist students in higher education

Under the revised Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Swadhar Yojana, eligible SC and Neo-Buddhist students pursuing higher education after Class 12 will receive annual grants of up to Rs 80,000, depending on their place of study.

The scheme provides financial assistance towards food, accommodation, subsistence and educational materials to students eligible for government hostels but have not been admitted.

“Students studying in Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Nagpur will receive an annual grant of Rs 80,000. This includes Rs 42,000 for food, Rs 28,000 for accommodation and Rs 10,000 for subsistence,” according to an official notification.

Those pursuing higher education in other revenue divisional cities and Class C municipal areas will receive Rs 68,000 annually, including Rs 37,000 for food, Rs 21,000 for accommodation and Rs 10,000 for subsistence, it added.

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SC boys, girls hostel in Maharashtra

Students who are studying in other districts and in colleges or educational institutions within 5 km of municipal limits will receive an annual grant of Rs 57,000. This comprises Rs 32,000 for food, Rs 17,000 for accommodation and Rs 8,000 for subsistence.

Those pursuing higher education in talukas will receive Rs 50,000 annually, including Rs 30,000 for food, Rs 13,000 for accommodation and Rs 7,000 for subsistence. Medical and engineering students will also receive an additional Rs 8,000 per year for educational materials, while students in other branches will get an additional Rs 4,000.

For hostels in the rest of the state, superintendents will receive Rs 15,000, cooks Rs 12,000, and helpers and watchmen Rs 10,000 each.

The state has 2,388 aided hostels for Scheduled Caste boys and girls, including 1,804 boys' hostels and 584 girls' hostels, with a total capacity of 99,852 students. The Cabinet has also made it mandatory for girls' hostels to have a female superintendent and a 24-hour security guard.