Even as another academic year nears the end, nearly half of the total female students from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) communities in government schools across the state have still not received the funds intended for them under the special incentives scheme implemented by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
What is the scheme?
Chalked out to encourage girls from vulnerable communities to pursue school education, the scheme intends to provide Rs 500 annually to every SC/ST girl studying in Classes III to V, Rs 1,000 for those in Class VI, and Rs 1,500 for those in Classes VII and VIII.
While there are 4.5 lakh girls eligible under the scheme, and Rs 43 crore was allocated for the assistance, school headmasters say there have been delays in fund disbursement due to the administrative processes.
"The amount is usually credited by February end or the first week of March. However, it has been further delayed this year. We are not sure if the girls will even receive it this year as the examinations might be held early due to Lok Sabha elections," said a headmaster from Sivaganga, one of the districts that has so far received no fund under the scheme this year.
K Samuelraj, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, said more than half of the total eligible beneficiaries are yet to receive the allocated amount in other districts.
"Till last year, the amount was being distributed to the districts and some portion of it was sent back for various reasons, including inactive accounts. This year, the department decided to distribute directly from the state level itself and made Aadhaar card linkage with bank accounts mandatory, leading to further delay," he told The New Indian Express.
He further said that no awareness was created among school headmasters about the new process, due to which, many did not ensure that the beneficiaries' bank accounts were linked with the Aadhaar.
Headmasters have been demanding the authorities ensure streamlined administrative processes and timely communication so that students from marginalised communities receive all the support that they are entitled to.
"There is a similar scheme to provide incentives to students from Most Backward Classes. Under that scheme, the money is sent to the account of the schools and we then distribute it to the students. Many headmasters are unaware of such schemes implemented by other departments or changes in the procedure to apply for it, resulting in many students not receiving the benefits," said another headmaster from Dindigul district.
What do officials say?
Meanwhile, the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department officials acknowledged that around 50% of the funds are yet to be distributed.
"We couldn't ensure Aadhaar linkage with the bank accounts of all the beneficiaries. Since the academic is about to end, we are planning to resort to the old method and distribute the funds to the respective districts. The students will get the money by March end," said a top official from the department.
