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| PMSS runs into rough weather in J-K, 50 percent scholarship applications rejected | | Scholarships worth Rs 27 crores denied to students of state | | Jehangir Rashid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, July 28: The prestigious Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) for meritorious students has run into rough weather in Jammu & Kashmir as the scholarship amount has been denied to thousands of students for 'trivial' reasons.
Sources told Early Times that 50 percent of the applications for scholarships have been rejected by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India on 'petty' issues. It has also been learnt that scholarships worth more than 25 crores have been withheld to the deserving students thus pushing them to the wall.
"Out of the 34,000 applications scholarship has been rejected with respect to 17,000 applications. The concerned ministry has communicated that the scholarship has been denied since the students have not written correct parentage or have failed to give the 16 digit bank account number. These issues could have been sorted out but it was not to be and the students have been forced to suffer," said sources.
Sources said that the scholarship amount totaled to Rs. 30 crores and out of which only Rs. 3 crores have been disbursed for the students. The sources said that the remaining Rs. 27 crores have not been released in favour of the students. This has led to a situation where the students are at crossroads along with the parents.
The sources said that mis-communication between the officials of Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Minority Affairs has jeopardized the career of thousands of students with no solution in sight for them. They said that Department of Social Welfare failed to take up the issue with the concerned ministry and as such the students were forced to suffer for no fault of theirs.
Accepting that scholarship has been denied to thousands of students, Deputy Director, Social Welfare, Tabasum Kamili said that there has been no mis-communication in this regard. She said the Ministry of Minority Affairs changed the guidelines for the grant of scholarship adding that this became the reason for the withholding of scholarship to meritorious students.
"This year Ministry of Minority Affairs introduced Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the students and it is here the problem began. The students filled the forms according to the norms already in place without knowing that the rules have been changed. They filled the last four digits of their bank account instead of 16 digit bank account. The students are at no fault and the fault lies with the Ministry of Minority Affairs," said Tabasum.
The Deputy Director said that the Ministry of Minority Affairs did not direct the students to follow the latest rules and regulations on its website adding that this was a glaring fault. We had meetings with the Minority Affairs Minister, Najma Heptullah in this regard so that the corrective action is taken.
"The mistake committed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs has jeopardized the career of 15,000 students in the state. We had requested the officials of the concerned ministry to give a leniency to the students of the state since they are not at fault. However, the officials are not ready to accept this and they say that no such complaint has been received from any other state," said Tabasum.
The Deputy Director appealed the officials of the Ministry of Minority Affairs to adopt a lenient approach towards the students so that their scholarship is released at the earliest. She said that the department is at job in correcting the situation adding that it is expected that the things would be streamlined. |
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