A protest was held under the banner of AIDSO near the old Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Tuesday, November 21, demanding sanction of scholarship to all students.
Addressing the protestors, AIDSO District president Subhash said scholarships had not been sanctioned to the students including those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Minorities. The students have not received scholarships which they had applied for in the last academic year, he maintained.
A few days ago, the student scholarships given to the children of the construction workers of the State had been drastically reduced. He expressed displeasure that the scholarship amount, which was distributed annually from ₹5,000 to ₹60,000 per student, had been reduced from ₹1100 to ₹11,000, according to a release by AIDSO.
Already, all levels of education have become commercialised and fees have skyrocketed. In today’s situation where it is very difficult for poor students to get an education, government scholarships are helpful to the students for pursuing higher education. Only because of scholarships, poor students could take up higher education courses such as engineering, medical and also doctoral studies, he stated.
The cut in scholarship amount and the long delay in the disbursement of scholarships has affected the children of construction workers and poor children from pursuing higher education, the AIDSO argued in the release.
“The government should spend a portion of taxes collected from the masses for education. The money collected in the name of cess has accumulated aplenty in the labour fund and the money should be used entirely for their education and welfare,” the release added.
Mr. Subhash demanded that the government should pay attention to the issue and immediately sanction the scholarships besides increasing the amount given in scholarships to the children of construction workers.
District Secretary Chandrakala, office-bearers Nitin, Chandrika, Chandana Hema, and others were present at the protest.
