Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday asked the Centre “put on hold” its decision to “abruptly” withdraw the Minority Scholarship provided under the pre-matric scholarship scheme to students studying from classes one to eight, contending that the scheme’s withdrawal will “adversely affect” saying nearly five lakh students in the state.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister MK Stalin said a letter from the Ministry of Minority Affairs last week declared that only students studying in Classes IX and X will be eligible for the pre-matric scholarship scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
“I want to point out that this stance goes against the principle of supporting the needy in the crucial years of their early education. Further, this stance will affect all scholarships for children in classes I-VIII. The Government of India introduced the pre-matric scholarship scheme for Minority Students in 2008-2009,” Stalin said.
He added that the minority students in classes one to ten studying in Government/Government Aided and all recognized private institutions are eligible for this scholarship if their parent/guardian’s annual income is less than Rs 1 lakh.
“Under this scheme, a sum of Rs.86.76 crore was sanctioned to 4,49,559 students from Tamil Nadu in 2021-2022. Given the withdrawal of the scholarship by the Union Government, nearly five lakh poor minority students studying from 1st standard to 8th standard in Tamil Nadu will be adversely affected and deprived of the benefits of the scholarship,” he said.
The Chief Minister argued that education was the most effective tool for empowering the poor and helping them lead dignified lives, while reminding the Prime Minister that multiple surveys over the years have demonstrated that minorities, especially Muslims, are lagging in education.
“This scholarship supports poor, underprivileged, and highly marginalized students, including girls, to access quality education and, therefore, must be continued. I, therefore, request you to put the decision on hold and restore the pre-matric scholarship Scheme to all minority students studying from 1st to 8th standard,” Stalin added.