In a welcome move, the Government of Maharashtra has reversed its previous policy changes regarding the Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Scholarship Scheme.
"The changes are reversed for all the foreign education scholarship schemes, including the ones for SC, OBC, ST, VJ, NT, minority, and open," informed Rajiv Khobragade, the petitioner and a member of the NGO The Platform.
The Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Scholarship Scheme provides financial assistance to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Neo-Buddhist boys and girls pursuing master's and research (PhD) courses abroad.
Earlier, this year the state government, through a Government Resolution (GR), brought three changes in the scholarship.
The three controversial new conditions included a cap of Rs 30 lakh for master's courses and Rs 40 lakh for PhDs for SC students, whereas, earlier, scholarships provided full coverage.
Additionally, eligibility was limited by an annual income cap of Rs 8 lakh. Furthermore, the academic performance threshold had been raised from 55% to 75% from Class X through graduation/post-graduation, a change that has sparked debates about accessibility.
To rewind, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was also filed against recent policy changes which was rejected on June 26 by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. On July 6, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that a new Government Resolution (GR) would be released shortly.
While the government has decided to reverse two changes made earlier, the eligibility for an annual income cap of Rs 8 lakh remains unchanged.
The students will now receive a scholarship that covers their full academic expenses for both their master's and PhD programmes abroad. The academic requirement has been lowered to 55% through graduation and post-graduation. Which means 55% in graduation for Masters and 55% in Masters for PhD, however, there is no available information on percentage marks required for class X to XII.
Furthermore, two members of a family will be eligible to avail of the scholarship now, which was reduced to one member last year.
However, concerns about the application deadline which was on July 12 remain.
“The government should consider extending the application deadlines. Many students did not fill out the application form, thinking that the decision would be reversed and a new application window would be opened. Additionally, many people were ineligible as per the changed rules,” said Rajiv Khobragade.
He also discussed the concerns of students who received scholarships to pursue a master's degree abroad and then returned to India, but now want to pursue a PhD abroad. In these situations, students are not eligible for the scholarship. The programme offers scholarships to students who go on to pursue a PhD after completing their master's degree abroad. This means that they can receive financial support for both their master's and PhD studies.
“We’re writing to the government to take this matter into consideration as well,” he said.
