Students from marginalised communities who live in Maharashtra and wish to pursue their education in other states have been upset over the state government’s decision to stop the scholarship provision for inter-state students belonging to the categories of Special Backward Classes (SBC), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT). They launched a Twitter storm on the social media platform on September 11 to protest against the same.
Students along with civil society organisations launched the online campaign with the hashtags #Resume_VJNT_OBC_Scholarship, #Maharashtra_NT_DNT_OBC_
Civil society organisations like the Nomad Liberty Movement stated that the government cited budget constraints as the reason behind the removal of the provision, said Amol Shingade, Convenor of the organisation.
Students’ struggles
A student from Maharashtra who wishes to pursue education in Hyderabad, said that his scholarship application was rejected. He belongs to the SBC community. “We will now have to pay the full fees which also includes accommodation fees. We cannot afford to pay such high amounts as we are from rural areas,” the student told EdexLive on the condition of anonymity.
He was told by the college authorities that he should visit the social welfare office in his own district as the state doesn’t offer such a provision anymore, he said.
Another student, Santosh Rasve from Maharashtra who studies in Hyderabad voiced the same concerns. He belongs to the OBC community. “I am a first-generation learner. Earlier, with the provision, we could study an entire course for Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. But now, we will have to pay around Rs 7 to Rs 8 lakh. My family’s annual income doesn’t allow me to pay that kind of money,” he said.
Additionally, multiple students are yet to receive scholarships that they applied for before the order was released, informed Umesh Korram from the Students Rights Association of India. “The scholarships are pending because of budget constraints. But still, the government shouldn’t have completely done away with the provision. They should have figured out some solution,” he said.
The Twitter storm was launched yesterday to pressurise the government and gain support from other civil society organisations as well, said Prashant Chavhan Co-founder of Eklavya India Movement. They plan to continue the online campaign by tagging several ministers of the state. The main demand is to resume scholarships as they were being provided before, said Amol.
What is the post-matric scholarship?
The post-matric scholarships are given to students from the SC, ST, OBC and other marginalised communities studying at post-matriculation or post-secondary stages within India. It is given to those students whose parents' income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh, according to reports. However, many institutions have halted giving these scholarships. Protests erupted in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad after the college administration decided to collect tuition, hostel and dining fee from students who are meant to be covered under the scholarship scheme. The latest state to follow suit is Maharashtra.
