BJP state spokesperson Ajay Sah raised an important issue related to higher education in Jharkhand during a press conference held at the BJP state office. He raised questions on the status of two important tenders issued by the Higher Education Department of the Jharkhand government in October 2023—Eklavya Prashikshan Yojana and Mukhyamantri Shiksha Protsahan Yojana.
Sah said that the Hemant government had announced these two schemes in the year 2023, which were aimed at benefiting 35,000 students of Jharkhand. Under these schemes, free coaching was arranged for the students for competitive examinations like UPSC, JPSC, Bank PO, Medical, Engineering, SSC, Hotel Management, Mass Communication, Railway Board, etc. Apart from this, there was also a provision to provide financial assistance of Rs 2500 every month to the students.
Ajay Sah, while targeting the government, said that a budget of about ₹ 350 crore was approved for these two schemes one and a half years ago. But, surprisingly, no action has been taken on it till date. He questioned the government that why the future of thousands of students of Jharkhand was pushed into darkness by stopping such an important scheme without any clear reason?
Ajay Sah expressed his apprehension and asked that if the budget for these schemes had been approved, then was the fund set aside for the students diverted to any other scheme? He also asked the government to clarify whether these schemes have been completely stopped or will they be restarted in the upcoming budget?
Sah said that usually students start coaching with the new session in April every year. If the government does not implement these schemes by March, then these schemes will remain limited to papers only and will never be implemented on the ground. This will affect the future of thousands of students. If the government does not take any concrete decision soon, the educational future of the students will become dark. He appealed to the government to immediately implement the education related schemes keeping them away from political tug-of-war. Media co-incharge Ashok Badaik was present in the press conference.