Abhijit Ray,Kolkata:The state government does not want the education of any meritorious student to be stopped due to financial constraints. The Swami Vivekananda Merit Means Scholarship has been launched at the initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Despite the tussle in the state’s treasury, the Mamata government’s efforts to stand by the needy and meritorious have once again been proved. About Rs 1,400 crore is being spent to give this scholarship or scholarship to 8 lakh students of Bengal. The surplus in this sector in the last financial year was about Tk 300 crore.At the same time, this money has been arranged by adding Tk 1100 crore in the current financial year. Naturally, the cost of scholarships has increased a lot compared to the last time. The government has set a target to send the scholarship money to the account of every eligible applicant by March 31. The money has already entered the accounts of most of the students. According to state government sources, along with the new applicants, the scholarship is given to the students who have received this scholarship earlier, even if they apply.This time, after the expiry of the application deadline, it is seen that in all, about 9 lakh forms have been submitted to the portal. After the selection, the number of scholarship recipients stood at a little over eight lacks. Around three lakh students studying in general degree colleges have applied for scholarships. Apart from this, many students of polytechnic, medical, and engineering departments have applied for scholarships. At the same time, 84,000 higher secondary students have also submitted the forms.Initially, the rule was that 75 percent marks are mandatory in the last examination for students belonging to economically backward classes to apply for this scholarship. It is seen that many poor meritorious students are being deprived of this. So, two years ago, the eligibility criteria were reduced to 60 percent. Since then, the application has been pending. Earlier, when the number of applicants was between three to five lakhs, now it reached nine lacks.Initially, the rule was that 75 percent marks are mandatory in the last examination for students belonging to economically backward classes to apply for this scholarship. It is seen that many poor meritorious students are being deprived of this. So, two years ago, the eligibility criteria were reduced to 60 percent. Since then, the application has been pending. Earlier, where the number of applicants was between three and five lacks. According to sources in the Higher Education Department, the work of sending money to the accounts of consumers on a war footing is going on. More than six lakh students have already received the money.
