November 2, 2020
TED NewsDesk, Chandigarh: Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, launched a post-matric scholarship scheme for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes category on Saturday.
The Chief Minister also laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 50 crore at Amritsar’s Ram Tirath to mark Valmiki Jayanti. Through his virtual presence at the Valmiki Jayanti celebrations, he also inaugurated a new Ram Tirath ITI campus while giving the green signal for the establishment of a skill development centre to prepare Dalit students for competitive exams, as per a government statement. Launching Dr BR Ambedkar Post-Matric SC Scholarship Scheme, the Punjab chief minister said it would ensure that poor students get a free higher education, which the Centre unfairly deprived them of with a sudden withdrawal of aid worth Rs 800 crore to the state.
He emphasised that the state government is committed to the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, Amarinder Singh and mentioned that this scheme launched without any financial contribution from the Centre would provide a 100% fee waiver to SC students. The scheme will likely benefit over three lakh poor SC students around the year, will involve no upfront payment by them to the government or private educational institutions.
The institutes will thus provide free education to SC students under the scheme with direct subsidy bestowed from the state government, the CM announced, adding that students will also get a monthly stipend to buy books and uniforms. In addition to it, he announced an annual holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act in memory of great personality. He said Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev University would host a seminar on Bhagwan Valmiki annually on the eve of his birth anniversary. Giving details of Bhagwan Valmiki Tirath Sthal (Ram Tirath) projects, the Chief Minister said these include a panorama on Maharishi Valmiki (Rs 25-30 crore), facade lights (Rs 10.9 crore) and a filtration plant in the Sarovar (Rs 4.75 crore).
This initiative by the state government of Punjab is likely to benefit an entire community of students who are in dire need of access to education. Due to the ongoing pandemic, education in marginalised sections of the Indian diaspora has been badly hit.
Source: Outlook India