Youth Akali Dal holds protest against social justice minister in Mohali
As Scholarship Scam Issue Heats up, It Is Dalit Students Who Have Most To Lose
Owing to
politics over the post-matric scholarship, the number of Dalit students who are
beneficiaries has reduced from 3.10 lakh in 2015-16 to 1.99 lakh in 2019-2020.
Prince Singh – a
21-year-old B. Tech (Computer Science) final year student wondering if he would get his degree, which
has been withheld by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
The son of a
labourer from Pathankot, he and hundreds of Dalit students who are
beneficiaries of the scholarship are being harassed by their colleges and
universities to pay the fees. There has been a continuous delay in the release
of scholarship funds from the Centre and the state government.
“For the past
three years, the university has held back my detailed marks certificate, which
is issued after every semester. The university has refused to give it until the
pending fee is paid. Now that this scam has been exposed, I have realised that
I am bearing the brunt of politics over scholarship,” he said.
“I could not
even appear for the campus placement because the companies required DMCs. I
also lost the chance of appearing for GATE exam, CDS, AFCAT and the University
Entry Scheme for B.Tech students to join Army and Navy as Commissioned
Officers.”
“Last October,
we met additional chief secretary (ACS) Kripa Shankar Saroj in Chandigarh and
apprised him about our problems. But the Dalit students have lost so much,” he
said.
Kripa Shankar
Saroj, the ACS of social justice, empowerment and minorities, is the same
bureaucrat who exposed the Rs 55.71 crore scam. The senior IAS officer sent a
special report to Punjab chief secretary Vini Mahajan, seeking action.
https://thewire.in/rights/punjab-post-matric-scholarship-scam-dalit-students-lose
Dr. Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
University of Delhi
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