Union Minister for Minority Affairs Smriti Zubin Irani has informed the Rajya Sabha that the Union government has conveyed to the Tamil Nadu government that the removal of coverage of class I to 8 from the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for minority students, was based on “cogent reasons.”
Ms. Irani was replying to DMP MP P. Wilson, who, in a query, had sought to know the Union Ministry’s response to the representation by the Tamil Nadu government last year, regarding the restoration of the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for students of all minorities in classes 1 to 8 as the withdrawal of the scholarship by the Centre would impact nearly 5 lakh poor students in Tamil Nadu.
In her reply to Mr. Wilson, Ms. Irani said firstly, the participation of students from minority communities at the primary and elementary level was on a par with the national average and secondly, the students at these levels are already covered under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
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The Act has made it obligatory for the appropriate government to provide free and compulsory elementary education (classes 1 to 8), to each and every child and no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
“Further, there was a need to harmonise the coverage under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for minorities with similar schemes implemented for other target groups like the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the OBCs,” Ms. Irani contended.
For these reasons, it has been decided to discontinue the scholarship for classes 1 to 8 under the Pre-Matric Scholarship scheme and “focus more on the education of children from minority communities, especially girls, at higher classes which would generate better employment opportunities from them,” the Union Minister said.
