Admissions under post-matric scholarship scheme decline

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 24

Due to discrepancies in the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, a dip in the number of admissions has been observed over the past few years.

Compared to 27,500 students enrolled under the scheme in the academic session 2017-18, there were only 19,000 enrolments in 2018-19.

Likewise, the total number of admissions in particular, also declined in the colleges offering admissions under the scheme.

As per the District Welfare Department, there are around 415 institutions in the district that are registered under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, to provide admissions to students.

In the three consecutive academic sessions — 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 — the admissions under the scheme have declined to 1,470, 1,208 and 1,163 respectively, at Lalyalpur Khalsa College.

Similarly, with already a fewer number of admissions, 34 in 2017-18, the admission rate reduced to 21 in the last session (2018-19) at Apeejay College of Fine arts.

The affected students stated that some of the colleges had refused to give them admissions and they were enrolled only on the condition of paying a little amount of the course fee, along with the university examination fees.

Varjit Kaur, district secretary of the Punjab Students Union said, “The students seeking admissions to B Ed and masters courses at Layalpur Khalsa College for women were asked to deposit the whole fees if they wanted to get enrolled. Similarly, there were other colleges as well where students faced similar conditions.”

Notably, the reimbursement of fees under the scheme has always been a heated subject. Every now and then, the delay in the release of post-matric scholarships had created problems for students.

Other than denying admissions to the scheduled caste (SC) and backward classes students, city-based colleges didn’t let them appear for mid-session examinations due to the pending dues.

Students under the banner of the Punjab Students Union, in April also claimed that the colleges had been pressuring them to sign an affidavit wherein it’s written that if the Centre and the state government failed to release their dues by July, students and parents would be solely responsible for clearing the pending fees.

The CT Group of Institutions, Shahpur campus, even demanded blank cheques and claimed that whenever the state government releases the scholarships, they were authorised to get the cheques cashed, the students alleged.

Gurpinder Singh Samra, principal, Lyallpur Khalsa College, stated, “The colleges haven’t been provided funds under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the past three academic sessions and 55 per cent of the dues of 2015-16 session were also pending.”

Rs 284 crore not released to colleges

MLA Pawan Tinu, who has been actively voicing concerns of the affected SC and backward students, said, “Owing to sheer negligence of the state government, students and colleges are made to suffer. While students were denied admissions under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, the government hasn’t released Rs 284 crore to the colleges.”

He added the Central government had twice released the funds – Rs 1,69,52,00,000 and Rs 114,90,00,000 — to the state government in 2018-19, but the colleges haven’t got these yet.

Meanwhile, there is no check on the institutions denying free admissions to students under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme.

415 institutions registered under scheme

• As per the District Welfare Department, there are around 415 institutions in the district that are registered under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, to provide admissions to students.
• In the three consecutive academic sessions — 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 — the admissions under the scheme have declined to 1,470, 1,208 and 1,163 respectively, at Lalyalpur Khalsa College.
• Similarly, with already a fewer number of admissions, 34 in 2017-18, the admission rate reduced to 21 in the last session (2018-19) at Apeejay College of Fine arts.