National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) member Ishwar Singh on Friday said the commission has fixed October 10 deadline for disbursement of post-matriculation scholarships to over 23,000 applicants by the respective district welfare officers in Bihar.
"About 19,700 students have not received their stipend in 2015-16 while the corresponding figure for 2014-15 is 4,225. We have directed all the district welfare officers (DWOs) to disburse the amount latest by October 10," said Singh at a presser after a meeting with the DWOs of the state.
Singh said he had come to Bihar after receiving multiple complaints from students as well as non-government organizations about delay in payment of post-matriculation scholarships. "A number of students had to discontinue their higher studies due to paucity of funds. When we had a talk with the senior state government officials, they promised to sanction the funds, which they even did. But, the DWOs are yet to distribute the amount," he said.
The commission will also summon the chief secretary, on behalf of the state government, to explain the criteria under which the government decided to slash the stipend to a maximum of Rs15,000. "A notice will be issued to the chief secretary on Monday for which he will have three days to reply. Depending on the response, further action will be mulled. How can they cut the amount for students who are already in their second or third year of courses?" Singh told TOI. Sources said students were earlier eligible for scholarships up to Rs1 to 1.5 lakh.
Singh has also instructed the DWOs to probe various irregularities such as fake institutions or fake students, etc, who took undue advantage of the scheme. "Take strict action in these matters and book even erring officials, if any," he said.
According to the stats furnished by the officials, 1,11,804 students had applied for the stipend in 2015-16 of which 72,629 were approved. In 2014-15, 89,434 of the 1,52,281 applications were approved.
During his three-day visit to Bihar, which concluded on Friday, Singh met students, NGO representatives, representatives from the SC community and state government officials.
Singh said he had come to Bihar after receiving multiple complaints from students as well as non-government organizations about delay in payment of post-matriculation scholarships. "A number of students had to discontinue their higher studies due to paucity of funds. When we had a talk with the senior state government officials, they promised to sanction the funds, which they even did. But, the DWOs are yet to distribute the amount," he said.
The commission will also summon the chief secretary, on behalf of the state government, to explain the criteria under which the government decided to slash the stipend to a maximum of Rs15,000. "A notice will be issued to the chief secretary on Monday for which he will have three days to reply. Depending on the response, further action will be mulled. How can they cut the amount for students who are already in their second or third year of courses?" Singh told TOI. Sources said students were earlier eligible for scholarships up to Rs1 to 1.5 lakh.
Singh has also instructed the DWOs to probe various irregularities such as fake institutions or fake students, etc, who took undue advantage of the scheme. "Take strict action in these matters and book even erring officials, if any," he said.
According to the stats furnished by the officials, 1,11,804 students had applied for the stipend in 2015-16 of which 72,629 were approved. In 2014-15, 89,434 of the 1,52,281 applications were approved.
During his three-day visit to Bihar, which concluded on Friday, Singh met students, NGO representatives, representatives from the SC community and state government officials.
