The education expenses of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) students pursuing Medical and Engineering courses in government-run institutions will now be completely covered by Odisha's ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department. A decision in this regard has been taken by the department, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Informing this to all the collectors on August 31, Department Secretary Roopa Roshan Sahoo said that under the financial assistance scheme of Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chatra Protshan Yojana (MMCPY), the department is currently extending financial assistance to the ST and SC students pursuing higher studies from the state budget. From now on, under MMCPY, the entire fee for the course tenure of ST and SC students studying in government institutions offering MBBS and engineering (BTech, MTech) courses will be covered, she added.
The course fee includes admission fees, seat acceptance charges, annual course fee (tuition fee and all compulsorily payable charges to institution), hostel admission charges, mess charges and any other incidental expenses for study like purchase of books/study materials, coaching/tutorial expenses. This will be applicable to eligible students from the academic year 2023-24 onwards.
In her directive, the secretary informed that all the expenses of the students, duly signed by the dean or head of the institution, should be forwarded to the district collector for reimbursement under the scheme. Further, she asked the collectors and district magistrates to publicise this decision and also college authorities to affix the resolution on the campus notice board. It is also mandatory for every such institution to orient the students about it on September 11 and repeat the same on the date every month, if it is not a holiday.
