The students’ body submitted a memorandum to the MOBC director. It threatened to launch an intense agitation if scholarship is not released within the deadline
TFM News Service
Strongly deploring non-disbursal of OBC/SC students’ scholarship for 2021, All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) on Wednesday gave 15-day time and threatened to launch an intense agitation if scholarship is not released within the deadline.
In a press briefing at AMSU’s office on Dhanamanjuri University campus, AMSU president Haobijam Chalamba demanded timely release of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India-sponsored Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Scheduled Caste (SC) pre-metric, post-matric students’ scholarship. This annual scholarship is providing some succor to students belonging to economically weaker sections. However, after declaring the selected list of SC students, no disbursal of scholarship 2020-21 has been made to the majority of students except a few. For OBC students, no scholarship has been released till date though a selection list has been declared.
He slammed reduction of Rs 1,000-Rs 2,000 in scholarship for OBC pre-matric and post-matric students this year from the previous years and urged MOBC department to give full scholarship entitled to the students. He also urged the department not to indulge in dilly-dallying tactics and demanded immediate disbursal of scholarship.
He further said earlier also the government released the scholarship after students erupted in protest. He demanded to discontinue such a habit of disbursal of scholarship only after students’ agitation.
He told the media persons that AMSU has submitted a memorandum to the Minority and Other Backward Classes (MOBC) Director for immediate release of MOBC Scholarship 2020-21, which has been put on hold after declaring the selection list.
As this scholarship will be given through National Scholarship Portal (NSP) from next year, he urged the department not to hold back disbursal of 2020-21 scholarship and other 2018-19, 2019-20 pending cases of students who were in the selection list but didn’t get scholarship amount yet.
It may be noted that The Frontier Manipur in an exclusive story published in July had reported that the selection list of the OBC, SC, EWC students for pre and post matric scholarship has not been notified yet. It also highlighted the plight of the pandemic-ravaged student communities.
The pandemic has affected the economic activities of the parents of most of the students who used to support their wards financially. Before the pandemic, the students used to earn some amount through tutoring and other activities. So, during such a hard time, they were hoping the scholarship amount would at least be enough for the form fill-up and admission.