Imphal, December 3, 2022:
Demanding the early delivery of scholarships for students for the year 2021. In case the government continues to withhold the scholarship amount for an extended period of time. The Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur has threatened to protest.
DESAM secretary general M Somorjit Luwang told journalists on Saturday at its Kwakeithel headquarters. The scholarships are granted to students under the ministry of social justice and empowerment.
Scholarships for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, and Pre-Matric students have been released for the year 2021. However, a scholarship sum of Rs 17.31 crore for 24,996 students under the post-matric scholarship system has yet to be distributed.
Because Manipur has a low per capita income, postponing the disbursement of scholarship money has a significant impact.
He stated that because Manipur has a low per capita income. And, postponing the disbursement of the scholarship money has a negative impact on students continuing their studies. It is crucial to their education that they receive a scholarship.
The secretary-general further said that DESAM has evidence indicating that the ministry has released Rs 1.20 crore from the Rs 17.31 crore amount.
He then urged that the state government pursue the case with the ministry for the remaining funds to be released as soon as possible. This is so that students can receive the help they need.
Somorjit continued to say that while the deadline for applying for the 2022 session scholarship has passed, numerous students have been left out due to delays in the admission process at various Manipur University departments.
Expressing grave worry about the situation, he urged the state administration and the relevant departments to consider alternate measures for providing support to qualified students. He warned of initiating various forms of protest if the government continued to neglect the issue.