Bengaluru: In an important development, the Union cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a Rs 59,048 crore investment to provide post-matriculation scholarship to 4 crore Scheduled Caste students.
It is to be noted that this scholarship will aid the SC students in completing their higher education for the next five years.
How the investment is shared:
Out of the total investment of Rs 59,048 crore, the Central Government would spend Rs 35,534 crore and the balance would be funded by the state governments. This replaces the existing committed liability system and brings greater involvement of the centre in this scheme.
The Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Castes allows students to pursue any post matric course starting from Class XI with the Govt meeting the cost of education.
The focus of the scheme would be on enrolling the poorest students and the beneficiaries would receive the scholarship amount via the DBT scheme.
It is estimated that 1.36 crore students, who are currently not continuing their education beyond Class X would be brought into the higher education system in the next 5 years.