Colleges raise concern over post-matric scholarship recipients quitting midway

Even as the Punjab government released the pending amount of Rs149.53 crore for the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the year 2013-14 recently, principals of colleges in the city are angry over the fact that many students availing the benefit are leaving their studies midway.

Even as the Punjab government released the pending amount of Rs149.53 crore for the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the year 2013-14 recently, principals of colleges in the city are angry over the fact that many students availing the benefit are leaving their studies midway.

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The college principals have maintained that many students who have got the maintenance allowance in their accounts by the Punjab welfare department of SC/ ST have left their studies, thus depriving those students who actually wanted to pursue their studies of admission and benefits.
Last week, the state government released Rs149.53 crore which includes student maintenance allowance and fee of institutes and colleges for the 2013-14 session.

Welfare minister Gulzar Singh Ranike had released Rs10.98 crore to medical colleges, Rs74.92 crore to technical institutes, `40.85 crore to DPI (colleges), Rs15.66 crore to DPI (schools), Rs2.78 crore to director technical education ITI and `4.34 crore to SCERT/other states.

Officials said there was no financial pendency with the welfare department for session 2013-14.
Naresh Dhiman, principal, Doaba College, said, “Around 20 students have stopped coming to attend second-year classes after receiving the maintenance allowance of the entire year.”

“As soon as some students get the grant in their accounts they do not show up at the college again. The whole money gets wasted due to this. The department should change this and send the funds to colleges instead,” he further said.

Jaswinder Singh Gill, deputy director, department of welfare of SC/BC, said, “There is no such issue as the maintenance allowance is released to students’ account after getting affidavits from the college authorities while the fee is sent to the college account.”

Some principals said they were yet to get the grant as they had not received it for 2013-14, even as the department authorities maintained that they have done so.

Rekha Kalia Bhardwaj, principal, Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, said they were yet to get their fee grant for the 2013-14 session from the department.

Gill said they had cleared all pending funds and the college had received the grant except those who have not submitted their affidavits.

The welfare department has received the Rs 149.67 crore grant for 2014-15 in advance, he added.