E-Paper
Post-Matric Scholarship: PU asks students to hand over funds disbursed by Punjab
In November 2024, Punjab had informed the court that they will release ₹2.7 crore within two weeks; while Punjab has paid this amount, PU officials said majority of the dues were pending
Panjab University (PU) has written to chairpersons and directors of all departments, asking that students claiming Post-Matric Scholarship (PMS) deposit their course and exam fee as the Punjab government has already deposited 40% of the amount in their accounts.
Centrally sponsored, the PMS scheme is implemented by state governments. But Punjab has failed to clear ₹21 crore owed to PU and its constituent colleges between 2014-15 to 2019-20.
After 2020, Punjab had started direct benefit transfer (DBT) of funds to the accounts of eligible students, to be further paid to PU. However, a recent audit had found that students had yet to deposit funds to the tune of ₹13.5 crore to the varsity.
As per a letter of the SC/ST cell of PU, 40% of this amount has been sanctioned for the 1,331 students of 2022-23 and 2023-24 batches by the Punjab government. All chairpersons have been directed to get it verified that the amount is deposited with the university towards exam fee and course fee. They are required to take an undertaking from the students also before the semester exams to deposit the money with PU.
At the beginning of the 2024-25 session, students claiming the scholarship had started to protest, as PU allegedly asked them to pay their fee. PU later decided that students will need to submit an undertaking at the time of admission, agreeing to deposit the fee within 10 days of receiving the amount in their accounts through DBT.
Some students of the 2022-24 session had also approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, alleging that they hadn’t received their degrees and were unable to pursue further education or get employment. The court had summoned principal secretaries of the department of higher education, department of finance, and department of scheduled caste and backward classes welfare after PU claimed that degrees were withheld as the Punjab government had not released the funds under the PMS scheme.
In November 2024, Punjab had informed the court that they will release ₹2.7 crore within two weeks. While Punjab has paid this amount, PU officials said majority of the dues were pending.
Know the scheme
The objective of the PMS scheme is to provide financial assistance to scheduled caste (SC) students studying at post-matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. SC students whose parents are permanent residents of Punjab and whose annual family income is below ₹2.5 lakh are eligible to avail the scheme. This is applicable for all courses except the self-financed courses of PU, which include courses in engineering, law and pharmacy, among others. Eligible students can apply for this scholarship through the SC/ST cell of PU.
