Nearly 1.2 lakh Assam students avail fee waiver scheme for college admissions

GUWAHATI : Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu on Monday said over 71 per cent of more than 1.66 lakh students taking admission in different colleges across the state have availed the fee waiver scheme for poor families. Previously, students with a parental annual income of up to Rs 2 lakh were eligible for free admission, but the limit has been raised to Rs 4 lakh from this year, Pegu said in a post on X. The colleges now allow ration cards as proof of family earnings instead of income certificates earlier, he added.

"This year, 1,18,199 (71 per cent) students out of 1,66,123 students have availed free admission till yesterday evening," Pegu said. The admission fees are set by colleges and universities with the State Fee Regulation Committee determining the upper limit, he added.

Brushing aside reports of doubling admission fees, the Minister asserted that the state government does not charge any fee from college students and instead, it offers a fee waiver scheme for BPL students. Sharing Pegu's post, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government has paid Rs 103 crore to different colleges for enrollment of students in the last year.