Punjab Governor seeks report on non-disbursal of scholarships to SC students

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has sought details from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after reports about two lakh Scheduled Caste students in the state being forced to drop out of colleges due to non-disbursal of scholarships.

The development comes a day after National Commission for Scheduled Caste chairperson Vijay Sampla alleged that around two lakh students from the Scheduled Caste category dropped out of college due to non-payment of dues under a scholarship scheme of around Rs 2,000 crore by the Punjab government. In a letter to the chief minister, Purohit said,

“If it is correct, it would be a most reprehensible violation of constitutional rights of the SC students and grave injustice to them.” Sampla in Delhi had said the commission had sought an explanation from the Punjab government on why the money has not been paid to colleges despite the payment of dues by the Centre.

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"We have taken suo motu cognisance in the matter. There have been many complaints from SC students that they are not being allowed in colleges as the government has not paid their fees. "There were around three lakh SC students who benefited from the scheme in 2017 and the number dropped to 1-1.25 lakh in 2020. When we asked the state government, they said these children dropped out," Sampla had said. He had said a meeting was held on Monday between the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry and the Punjab government to discuss the matter. "In the meeting, it came to light that no dues from the Centre are there while the state government has to pay dues worth Rs 2,000 crore to pay to these colleges. Where has the money gone that is due," he said.

Chief minister Mann on July 13 had ordered a comprehensive probe into alleged irregularities in the post-matric scholarship scheme that had surfaced during the previous Congress regime in the state.