The story of manipulating Prime Minister’s Special Scholarships Scheme, launched in 2009 by Prime Minister’s Office under the name of Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Youth, is a classical example of bungling the scheme for selfish ends in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. In the first place, the name and objective of the scheme were found enigmatic. This apart, the State bureaucracy kept it hidden from everybody and some influential mandarins and political personalities managed to secure scholarships under the scheme for their wards. This is reflected by the fact that in the first year of implementation of the scheme, viz. 2009-10, only 34 students from Kashmir we admitted to various professional and non professional institutions outside the State. It is now revealed that they were the relatives or wards of influential functionaries in the administration. Next year, the number reached 110 students and this low number caused concern with the Union Ministry of HRD to which the scheme had been outsourced by the Prime Minister’s Office.
However, on the objection of AICTE, the title of the scheme was changed from Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Students to Rehabilitation of J&K Students in 2010. Again sometime later it was re-named as J&K Students Special Scholarship Scheme. On the insistence of the Union Ministry of HRD, the scheme was fully advertised. HRD scaled down its conditions and raised the level of income of the family of the recipients to Rs 6.50 lakh. As a result, there was huge response of applicants in 2012 -2013 and over 6800 students were selected under the scheme. Ministry of HRD distributed them into three categories, committing to take care of first two categories directly and the State Government, to which the scheme had been finally outsourced, was to take care of the third category.
About 3000 students from the State fall under this category. The Union HRD Ministry has stopped release of scholarship in their favour for some reasons. As a result, the career of these students is at stake. Some of the students, harassed by the college authorities over non-payment of college dues and tuition fee are reported to have sold their belongings in a state of distress. It is sad that this situation has developed and the students have become the target. We find that there is not one but numerous faults from the very beginning in the entire scheme. Why the scheme was kept a secret when it was first launched in 2009. What was the monitoring mechanism of the Ministry of HRD that would keep a check on wayward handling of the scheme? Were the criteria of selection of deserving students scrupulously observed? Were the educational institutes in which students sought admission, recognized by the respective State Governments and the UGC etc.? Why was the scheme initially restricted to militancy victims in Kashmir only when these victims were to be found in large numbers in border areas of Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Kathua, Samba, RS Pura and in far flung areas of Kishtwar and Gool? On the surface of it, many eyebrows can be raised. Did the then Central Government want to please the Valley population at the cost of other regions and sub-regions of the State? What sense is there in stopping the scholarship of three thousand students half way? If their selection is irregular and if the educational institutions to which they have sought admission are unrecognized or if there are other lacunae, these should have been verified thoroughly at the time of the admission of the students. If any punitive measure is to be taken it should be taken against the institutions that are fake and yet have been running.
The Ministry of HRD is also reported to be selective in releasing scholarships. This needs to be verified. It is also to be worked out how the then Minister of HRD, when on a visit to Srinagar, announced overnight release of 9.5 crore of rupees by way of the amount of withheld scholarship and who were the persons on whose invitation he had come on a visit to Srinagar. There is lot more in the matter than what meets the eye. We would suggest that the Union Minister of HRD orders probe in the bungling of Special Scholarship Scheme (SSS) for J&K.
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