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Minority students
lose scholarship chance
WSN Network
 CHANDIGARH:
Hundreds of students belonging to minority communities were deprived
of an opportunity to get scholarships offered by the Central
Ministry of Minority Affairs as the state Welfare Department refused
to accept applications on Monday, which had been advertised as the
last day for submitting the claims.
The affected
students belong to various educational institutions. In just
Jalandhar, students of Sant Avtar Singh Yaadgari Senior Secondary
School, Seechewal (148 students); St Francis Convent School,
Kartarpur (65); St Mary's Convent School, Bhogpur (31); St Soldier
Divine Public School, Bhogpur (68); Shiv Jyoti Public School (8);
Vishvakarma Public School (5); St Antony's Convent school, Adampur
(63); St Mary's Convent School, Gakhlan (3); and St Jude Convent
School, Nakodar (45) were among those who suffered.
Sister Amla of
St Mary's Convent School, Gakhlan village, said the officials
stopped accepting applications at 10.30 am saying the data of
beneficiaries had already been dispatched to the head office in
Chandigarh on Monday morning. She said claims should have been
accepted till 5 pm, and demanded the last date should now be
extended by a month.
Several
advertisements in the local media had announced the last date as
August 31.
However,
Principal Secretary, Welfare, T.R. Sarangal in
Chandigarh
said a confusion about the date had led to the problem. "The last
date to submit applications was August 15, while the date for
submission of the complete database to the Ministry of Minority
Affairs for release of the grant was August 31. But the Punjab
government has written to the Centre to extend the last date by a
month as many claimants had not been able to submit their
applications," he said.
Under the
Central scheme, students belonging to Muslim, Christian, Sikh,
Buddhist and Parsi communities, notified under Section 2 (C) of the
National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, are eligible to apply
for scholarships.
Students of
classes I to X are entitled to Rs 1,200 per year, while classes XI
and XII get Rs 7,000-Rs 10,000. Students pursing technical or
professional courses are entitled to scholarships of Rs 25,000-Rs
30,000.
2
September 2009
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