Students, activists stage protests as Centre cancels pre-matriculation scholarships

The Central government announced on Tuesday, November 29, that pre-matriculation scholarships for students would be withdrawn as the Right to Education Act guarantees compulsory education for students of minority communities studying in Classes I to VIII. The students, on the other hand, claim that the issue unfairly targets minority students in the country.

Students, activists, and members of the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) protested against the government's decision in Malleswaram. “Abandoning the scholarship now will leave a large number of students permanently out of education. Innumerable poor children are unable to pay school fees, drop out of education and work because of financial problems. The situation of SC/ST, backward and minorities is no different,” said AIDSO State President Ashwini KS, as reported by The New Indian Express. 

“The government should not withdraw the rights of the students for any reason. In reality, it is the basic responsibility of the government to educate every child born. Stopping projects dedicated to the education of students under one pretext or another shows the government's neglect towards the students,” she said, further stating that the government's primary responsibility is to educate children and that it cannot do so if projects and schemes begun for them are stopped.