Aurangabad: Various educational and social organisations demanded to resume the pre-matric minority scholarship for primary school students.
The scholarship application form submitted by lakhs of students from the country was rejected.
As reported earlier by this newspaper, the Central Government displayed a message on the portal of the Minority Affairs Department stating that the Right to Education Act makes it obligatory for the Government to provide free and compulsory elementary education (from first to eighth standards) to each child. “Only students studying in classes 9th to 10th will be covered under the pre-matric scholarship scheme” it was mentioned in the letter.
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JSM fears rise in drop-out
In a memorandum submitted to union Minority Affairs Minister through divisional commissioner, Janjagran Samiti Maharashtra (JSM) stated that pre-matric scholarship played an important role to reduce the drop-out rate of poor students of standard first to eight.
‘However, the scholarship is an encouragement to parents to send their children to school. It also helps to reduce the financial burden on school education and sustain their efforts to support their children to complete school education. This is injustice with the students who will deprive of education in absence of scholarship,” the JSM mentioned in the memorandum.
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ABUSS makes demand with Central Govt
Akhil Bhartiya Urdu Shikshak Sangh (ABUSS) made a demand with the Central Government to revoke the decision of stopping the scholarship. “Nearly 10.86 lakh students’ application forms were rejected. The Government should take back the decision and do justice to minority students,” ABUSS mentioned in the memorandum.
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AMMESTO seeks resumption of scholarship
All Maharashtra Minority Educations Societies and Teachers Organisation (AMMESTO) submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister through the divisional commissioner stating that the pre-matric scholarship for primary school students should be resumed to bring students into the mainstream of education. It protested the decision of withdrawing the scholarship.
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Youth Congress submits memorandum to President
The office-bearers of Maharashtra State Youth Congress submitted a memorandum to the President of the country through the divisional commissioner demanding to cancel the decision of scholarship abolishing which is an injustice to minority community members.