Student scholarship scheme to cost Maha govt Rs 1,314 cr a yr

The Maharashtra government will bear an annual burden of Rs 1,314 crore for paying 50 per cent fees of students of medical, engineering and other professional courses whose family income is less than Rs 8 lakh a year, a minister said today.

Of the total amount, budgeting for Rs 1,200 crore for fees related to engineering and other professional courses has already been done, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said at a press conference here.

He said for the remaining Rs 114 crore, which relates to medical admissions, a government resolution (GR) was issued yesterday.

Under the Rajarshee Shahu Educational Fee Scholarship Scheme, the government bears 50 per cent of the fee burden of students studying in professional courses and whose family income is less than Rs 8 lakh a year.

The scholarship money is directly transferred to the accounts of colleges where such students have taken admission.

The Director of Technical Education has been asked to take strict action against institutes taking excess fee from such students, the government had said earlier.

The scheme covers 605 professional courses, including medical and engineering, and both government and private colleges are eligible for getting scholarship money.

Patil said about 5 lakh students will benefit from the scheme.

Referring to the Maratha reservation issue, the minister said the issue is pending before the court.

He expressed support for reservation for the Marathas in jobs and education and said the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission is looking into the issue.

"The Backward Class Commission has started work on a sample survey (to determine whether the Marathas are eligible for quota). About two lakh applications have been received.

"The survey is expected to be completed by July this year. After the commission submits its report, it will be approved by the Cabinet. We are for Maratha reservation," the minister said.

Since the information to be collected by the panel is huge, the report may not be submitted before January 2019, said Patil.