Tribal associations urge for swift release of scholarship
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 26 2017:
The Tribal Youth Council, Manipur (TYCM), Tangkhul Students Union Imphal (TKLI) and The All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur (ATSUM) urged the authority concerned to take up necessary steps to release the scholarship for ST students at the earliest .
A press release issued by the organisations today stated that the tribal students of Manipur who are pursuing their studies under different Boards and Universities across the country have been facing immense financial hardship due to failure to release the scholarship by the State Government .
It alleged that DDO of Tribal Affairs and Hills who handle matters regarding scholarship is neglecting his duties and is absent from the office most of the time .
It threatened to take necessary actions against the DDO if he fail to discharge his duty properly and further added that the Minister concerned is also not doing anything regarding the scholarship issue .
Although the Government of other States have been supporting their students under various policies, the Government of Manipur is neglecting its students by not releasing the scholarship on time to the poor tribal students .
Some States even reimburse all school expenditures of the tribal students but the Government of Manipur delayed and withheld the scholarships for months and the tribal students are getting frustrated waiting for their scholarship, it added .
Pointing out that the issue has greatly hampered the tribal students, it stated that tribal students from poor family background depend enormously on the scholarship for their school and college admissions, books, study materials, hostel fees, etc .
The State Government cannot withheld the scholarship fund meant for tribal students who are from weaker segment of the society, it conveyed .
It further explained that TKLI has already urged the concerned Minister for the same and also met DDO, Tribal Affairs and Hills, however, scholarships have not been released till date .
The organisations urged the Finance Minister and the State Government to release the scholarship immediately, failing which the ST students community along with tribal civil organisations will launch intense agitation so as to secure the release of scholarship, it added.