Centre has approved Rs176 crore for the post-matric scholarship scheme for the Scheduled Caste (SC) in Punjab. “Punjab Government has received a letter from the Union Government approving Rs176 crore as scholarship amount,” said the state Social Welfare Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike on Thursday.
He said that the amount would be disbursed amongst 3.15 lakh meritorious students of underprivileged sections of the society.
“Punjab Government is committed to impart quality education to the students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and minority communities in the State,” he said.
“The strong resolve of the Punjab government to provide uninterrupted education to the needy youth and to encourage the youth to complete their basic education and a number of other attractive schemes have also been launched by the Government,” he added.
Ranike said that besides this, the State Government has also urged the Union Government to approve the remaining amount of Rs367 crore for the year 2015-16, so that the studies of the students do not suffer and the students continue pursuing their academic goals.
The Minister directed the senior officers of the department to ensure that all the district education officers and district welfare officers to work in full coordination to make sure that the beneficiaries under the scholarship scheme get the scholarship regularly and without any hassle.