Thursday, August 16, 2012

Employment opportunity in Department of Posts-Last date for issue of Application is 25.09.12 available in all head Post offices ,  Last date for submission of application 01.10.2012.for women and SC/ST No examination fee is collected.  Application cost Rs 50/-
for further information pl contact nearby Head Post offices.


Sunday, August 5, 2012


Scholarship scheme benefits elude poor SC students

 S. Divyabharati, who was thrilled two weeks ago, when she got admission to ECE branch in a leading engineering college near here, is no longer excited. She is clueless after coming to know that she should pay Rs. 88,500 as fee upfront.
Ms. Divyabharati, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste and resides near Red Hills, knows she cannot mobilise the amount. Her father is watchman in a private firm, earning Rs. 4,000 a month.
She knows there is a scheme for first generation graduates, under which the government takes care of tuition fee, which is now Rs. 45,000. What she does not know is that there is another scheme, a Post-Matric Scholarship, offering more benefits for SC students than others.
As part of the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme devised by the Centre and implemented through States, the compulsory non-refundable fee — what is charged towards registration/enrolment, tuition, games, union and library membership, medical examination and any other fee compulsorily payable — is covered, apart from a host of other fees.
A senior official in the Adi Dravidar Welfare (ADW) Commissioner’s office clarifies that transport charges are not covered. In Divyabharati’s case this comes to Rs. 19,000 a year.
Ashok Kumar, the son of a daily-wage labourer in Tiruvallur hailing from the Arunthatiyar community (part of SCs), is also in the same state of unpreparedness as Ms. Divyabharati is. He has been allotted civil engineering and asked by another private college to pay Rs. 72,000 in 10 days. “I don’t even have enough money to travel by bus. I do not know how I am going to remit the fees,” he laments.

At present, the students have to apply through their colleges for the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme.
More than their level of awareness regarding this scheme or that, the serious problem being faced by students such as Ashok Kumar and Divyabharati is that they are in no condition to remit the fees on their own at the time of admission. The managements of private colleges, to which several students interviewed byThe Hindu have gained admission, are not ready to admit them without collecting the fees, even if they know that they will be able to get the fees reimbursed by the government as such students are eligible for coverage under one scholarship scheme or the other.
This year, most private self-financing engineering colleges have asked students to pay the fees latest by August 14.
“How can they pay so much money when their families struggle for daily sustenance? Many of them find paying Rs. 5,000 itself very difficult,” says D. Sherin, founder, Velicham, an NGO that works to facilitate higher education of underprivileged students.
The principal of a self-financing college says generally, colleges spare first generation graduates of the tuition fee. In respect of other schemes, the funds transfer from the government invariably comes late.
“Last year, many colleges reimbursed students many months after admission and students had to pay almost two years’ fees.”
To a question why the State government should not make arrangements for direct payment of fees for SC students, the official in the ADW Commissionerate replies that the administration is contemplating various steps. More students will be encouraged to open savings bank accounts so that their scholarship money can be credited through ECS. Already, SB accounts have been opened for about 24,000 students covered under the scholarship scheme.
On Monday, the Commissionerate will hold a meeting with bankers and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to discuss online transfer of money. Though the official points out that his office has set up a stall on the Anna University campus, the venue of engineering counselling, to disseminate information on the scholarship scheme, he agrees that much more requires to be done to increase the level of awareness. The process for getting the scholarship should also be simplified.
A senior government official says funds are very much available with the implementing departments, which have to do some more coordination involving college managements, higher education officials and district authorities.
source: The Hindu Dt 05.08.2012


To    TheEditor,                                                                                                  Dt:05.08.12
        The Hindu,
        Chennai-600 002.
        letters@thehindu.co.in

        Sub: - Scholarship scheme for SC/ST students-Reg.

       Ref: - News item appeared in The Hindu Dt 5.8.12 under the heading
               “Scholarship scheme benefits elude poor SC students.”

Sir,
           I appreciating your esteemed daily for bringing out the plight of SC/ST students in joining professional courses due to heavy fees demanded by colleges and availability of scholarships for reimbursement of fees paid by the poor students.
                The successive government continuously neglecting the interest of the SC/ST students. Tamil Nadu Government has not taken any concrete action for formulating any schemes for payment of fees in advance for deserving students from SC/ST communities.  Government of tamil Nadu leading in many fields and set an examples for various welfare activities of the poor people but it is continuously not giving much attention on  SC/ST students.
                There were always delay in implementing various welfare scheme towards SC/ST.  Previously the Adi-dravida department of Government of Tamil Nadu had issued eligibility card (E-Card) to those SC/ST student for joining in Government Colleges, the students submitting the e card need not pay any fees at the time of admission, and such fees will be adjusted in the scholarships.  This system can be introduced now for making payment to the colleges admitting SC/ST students.
                When Anna university and Directorate  of medical service conducting counseling for admission for  Engineering and medical colleges, why the Adi-Dravida Department in consultation with both these organizations has not  put up a camp of their office and issue eligibility card to those student getting admission in the  colleges.  If it is not found feasible they can work out a scheme in which the eligible students can get their eligibility card from respective district administration and the Adi-dravida welfare department can make payment to the colleges submitting eligibility card of the student along with scholarship application with in a stipulated time.
                To avoid delay in issuing e card and making payment to the private colleges the Adi-dravida department should think of  creating  a fund for this purpose and make payment to the colleges at the beginning of the year.  When the district administration issuing community certificate at the school for plus two students a similar action can also be taken by camping by the Adi-dravida department’s employee in the counseling centre and issue eligibility card to SC/ST, in this way the problem faced by SC/ST students can be avoided and ensure maximum enrolment of these students in professional colleges.
                The state government which is misusing funds earmarked for SC/ST welfare always choose to hiding  the allotment of funds for scholarship to SC/ST students by central government on the plea the credit for scholarships will go to the  party ruling central government ,which is the  main reasons they are not making such scheme so popular among SC/ST students, unfortunately the Central Govt is also failing on this account, it is never bothered  the amount allotted towards scholarships were utilized or not.
                It is high time the Government of Tamilnadu and Adi-dravida department to work out a scheme to make payment to the private colleges and facilitate hassle free admission of SC/ST students.
                I request your esteemed daily to publish the expert opinion on how best the scheme of scholarship should reach the poor SC/ST students especially to professional courses and the practice made by other states in admitting SC/ST students in self financing colleges.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Copy to:  1.The Secretary
                 Adi-Dravida department
                 Secretariate,Chennai-600 009
                 adisec@tn.gov.in      
                2.  The Director,
                  Adi-dravida welfare Dept
                  Ezhilagam,Chennai-600 005. 
                 3. The Chairman
                 National SC commission and National ST commission
                 New Delhi-110005
                 jointsecretary-ncsc@nic.in
                 chairperson@ncst.nic.in
                4.The Hon Minister for Social justice and empowerment
                    New Delhi-110001