‘No Bias on Caste or Faith’: Bengal revives Vivekananda merit scholarship yojana

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said his government has decided to revive the Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Yojana to support economically weaker students irrespective of their caste and faith, while discontinuing religion-based assistance to imams and others. Addressing a felicitation programme for 221 meritorious students who excelled in Madhyamik, Higher Secondary, madrassa and central board examinations, he said financial constraints should never become a barrier to higher education. "The Cabinet decided to stop all religious allowances and introduce the Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Yojana today itself," Adhikari said.

Stating that deserving students from economically weaker sections would receive support under the revived scholarship programme irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or political affiliation, the chief minister said. "The Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Yojana, which had been shut down, was restarted from today," he said. The announcement came hours after Minister Agnimitra Paul declared that assistance schemes under the Information and Cultural Affairs Department and the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department based on religious classification would be discontinued. Invoking social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's vision, Adhikari said his government would accord "special priority" to women's education. He said special encouragement would be given to girls' schools, women's colleges and universities.

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The chief minister also said his government would make "maximum effort" to improve infrastructure in state-run educational institutions, observing that nearly 90 per cent of the state's population depended on government educational facilities, which lagged behind private institutions in terms of infrastructure and competition. "While I will seek the advancement of private educational institutions, we will give maximum effort to improve the infrastructure of the government-run institutions," he said. Adhikari said the state government would soon implement the National Education Policy and set up smart schools and smart classrooms. "We will impart modern education, provide state-of-the-art laboratories and libraries, and develop playgrounds," he said.

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The chief minister also said political appointments in educational institutions have been cancelled as part of efforts to depoliticise the education sector. "We have decided to take steps to address the shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff," he added. Special initiatives would also be undertaken for improving school infrastructure, syllabus and implementation of the Samagra Shiksha Mission, Adhikari said. "We will also make arrangements for the development of high-skilled, skilled and semi-skilled manpower," he added. Referring to Bengal's talent pool, the chief minister said students from the state were leading premier educational institutions in the US and Europe, and stressed that his government wants the talent to remain in Bengal. "There is no dearth of talent in West Bengal. We want to make a real 'Sonar Bangla' using such talents," he said. Quoting Swami Vivekananda, Adhikari urged students to pursue education that would make them self-reliant and appealed to them to draw inspiration from former president APJ Abdul Kalam. "Listen to Abdul Kalam's speeches and interactions from time to time on your smartphones," the chief minister told students. He also urged private educational institutions to exercise restraint in fee structures and semester charges.