Four years since scholarship freeze: financially weak students in self-financing medical colleges struggling

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It has been four years since the BPL scholarship scheme started by the government for meritorious students from poor families who get admission to self-financing medical colleges has been frozen. The government has ignored the High Court's suggestion that a special law should be made for this. From 2017-18, government had implemented a scheme where the government bears 90 percent of the fees of BPL children who get admission on merit in self-financing medical colleges. The government's executive order in this regard was stayed by the High Court in July 2020. Although the High Court suggested that the scholarship may be legislated, the government is yet to act on it. Students from poor families, who had taken admission in self-financing medical colleges at high fees in the hope of getting government scholarships, are suffering due to this. Colleges are forcing them to pay fees.

The scholarship was made possible by charging an additional fee of Rs 5 lakh from the NRI quota entrants and transferring it to the corpus fund of the government. Students admitted from 2018-19 did not get the scholarship as this was stopped by the High Court. However, the NRI quota students are still being charged an additional Rs 5 lakh on top of the fees. 25 crores are currently available in the fund. Only 88 students admitted in 2017-18 are getting scholarships now.

Although the fee determination committee filed a review petition against the withholding of the scholarship, the High Court did not consider it. The government's appeal is in the Supreme Court. Apart from saying that an application would be made for speedy consideration of the appeal, nothing has happened. The government has given an affidavit in the High Court saying that the scholarship should be continued as financially weak children cannot study due to lack of money.

So far more than 40 crore rupees have been spent on scholarships. Scholarship recipients have to give a bond that they will work for the government for two years after their studies.

Beneficial for the children of financially weak

The scholarship is for labourers, traditional workers, lottery sellers, agricultural labourers, tailors, beedi workers, coir workers, barbers, iron smiths, hawkers, cashewnut workers, weavers, plantation workers, seriously ill persons etc. The children of those who live on government land and those who do not have their own land or house can also get scholarship.