SC scholarship: Punjab to pay 40% pending amount to colleges

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, May 3

Less than three months after a show-cause notice was issued to the Punjab Chief Secretary and another functionary in a matter pertaining to post-matric scholarship scheme for financial assistance to Scheduled Caste students, Punjab today undertook to pay 40 per cent of the amount to educational institutes. Available information suggests the amount comes out to be approximately Rs 400 crore.

Appearing before Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state counsel, on instructions from the Director, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment Minorities, submitted that the payment would be made within three weeks.

The petitioners had contended that the colleges/institutions were not to charge tuition and non-refundable compulsory fee from the eligible students. The amount was to be recovered by the institutions from the department concerned.

It was added that the reimbursement was not made on a monthly or immediate basis. Many students finished their course and left the college, leaving the petitioner-institutions high and dry as it could not recover the fee from them.

The Bench in August 2013 directed that the amount would be paid directly to the college. The Bench then set a three-month deadline for disbursal of the reimbursement and relevant fee, etc, to the colleges.

Acting on the petitions alleging contempt of court filed by the institutes, Justice Sangwan observed the successive set of affidavits showed that the payment was made to the petitioners in 2016-17, 2020-21 and 2021-22. But payment for financial years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 was not made. It was despite the admitted fact that the proportionate payment had already been made by the Centre, to the state.

Justice Sangwan, on the previous date of hearing, took note of the state counsel’s submission that the CM had made announcement on June 23, 2022, for the audit of the colleges. He took note of the state counsel’s submission that the audit of only 29 institutes were left.

About the case

• Colleges were not to charge tuition and other fee from the eligible SC students
• The amount was to be recovered from the government
• The reimbursement was not made on a monthly basis