JK students scholarship scheme: Govt will look into complaints

Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani today assured PDP President Mehbooba Mufti that the Centre would extend all help to Kashmiri students under the Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) and look into the complaints over the scheme.
"People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti today called on Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and raised the problems being faced by the students of Jammu and Kashmir on account of poor implementation of PMSSS. While assuring all possible help to Kashmiri students, the Union Minister said that she will look into the complaints with regard to PMSSS," a PDP spokesman said here.
He said during the meeting Mehbooba highlighted various incidents wherein Kashmiri students were served expulsion notices and subjected to "mental trauma and humiliation".

"The PDP president expressed serious concern over the treatment meted out to Kashmiri students covered under PMSSS at the hands of various college and university authorities outside the state," the spokesman said.
He said the PDP president told the Union Minister that "dismal implementation" of PMSSS has put careers of thousands of Kashmiri students "in peril" and sought her intervention on compassionate grounds to mitigate sufferings of such students and their families.
"Mehbooba observed that the Union Ministry should take up and sort out the issues with the respective colleges and the universities wherein Kashmiri students under this prestigious scholarship are either pursing their higher studies or had sought admissions.

"She told Irani that the students have been unnecessarily dragged in and subjected to various avoidable hardships and her ministry must sort out the issues confronted by the students and facilitate smooth implementation of PMSSS in favour of students of Jammu and Kashmir," the spokesman said.
Mehbooba, the MP from South Kashmir, urged Irani to impart highest priority to the issue and intervene in order to save the careers of thousands of Kashmiri students.
The spokesman said Mehbooba urged Irani to direct all academic institutions identified under the scheme to strictly follow the guidelines on supernumerary quota under PMSSS in a fair and transparent manner.