Post-matric scholarship scheme: CM urged to clear Rs 16-crore dues of SGPC-run institutes

Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, October 14

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami has urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to immediately release an amount of about Rs 16 crore, which had been withheld from the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Caste students of committee-run institutions, particularly of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib.

Institutions face loss as fee capped: Dhami

'The institutions are already facing financial loss due to low fee capped for many courses by the government. Due to this, the education sector of the state has been pushed into a deep financial crisis.'

Harjinder Singh Dhami, SGPC president

He said the university had been established with an aim of inculcating the youth of Punjab with moral values, which was the need of the hour.

Dhami said it was unfortunate that the state government had ignored the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to immediately release 40% of the outstanding scholarship amount for the academic sessions 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. So far, the SGPC-run institutions had not been paid any of their dues. He said the alleged non-seriousness of the government was reflected in the fact that it failed to appoint a Principal Secretary in the Social Welfare Department after August 31 this year due to which the payments to the institutions had stopped.

He said the government had started accepting applications from eligible students for the academic session 2023-24 even as the scholarship amount for the session 2022-23 had not yet been released to most of the higher education institutions.

The SGPC president said as per the guidelines of the scheme, the post-matric scholarship for the session 2022-23 was supposed to be released by the government by February this year. He said the institutions were already facing financial loss due to low fee capped for many courses by the government. Due to this, the education sector of the state had been pushed further into a deep financial crisis.

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