OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister Taba Tedir said that his department is making all-out effort to release the pending stipends of the students at the earliest.
Briefing media here, Tedir said the department has already released the stipends of the students who had applied under the state government scheme.
"There are two types of scholarship programmes. One is sponsored by the state government and the other by the union tribal affairs ministry. 16,374 students applied under the state government scheme on the national scholarship portal (NSP). We have released Rs 27 crores for it. Last month, 16,268 students received their stipends," said the minister.
He said there was some issue regarding the account details of 106 students, due to which funds could not be transferred, but the department is working on it. On the reason for the delay in releasing the stipends of the students who applied under the union tribal affairs ministry scheme, he said that the government of India is yet to release the fund.
"Rs 90 crores is needed for it. As per norms, the ministry pays 90 percent of the share and the state government pays its 10 percent matching share. The first installment of Rs 18 crores has been released by the tribal affairs ministry and the state government has also released Rs 2 crores as matching share. But Rs 20 crores is not enough. We have repeatedly written to the ministry to release the remaining share," said Tedir.
However, he informed that the education department has taken a loan from the state government to clear pending stipends.
"We have received a loan of Rs 69.68 crores, which will be returned to the state government when the fund from the ministry arrives. Within June, the stipends will be uploaded to the NSP and the students will receive their pending stipends," he said.
Regarding the stipends of the DIET students, the minister said that funds have already been placed in the districts. "Due to the lockdown and the Covid situation, there might have been delays in some districts. But it should be provided to the students at the earliest," he said.
Tedir also said that, being the education minister, he understands the issues concerning the students. "Students are facing a difficult time due to the Covid-19 situation. Therefore, we are making every effort to ensure that the stipends are released on time. But the government processes take some time. I assure the student communities that we take their concern seriously," he said.
The minister also clarified that the education department does not deal with the scholarships of medical or nursing students, and that it is taken care of by the medical education directorate.