Maha: Students in Palghar will receive caste certificates in their ashram schools

Students of ashram schools in four tehsils of Maharashtra's Palghar district, who faced difficulty in obtaining their caste certificates, will henceforth get these documents at their schools, an official said on Saturday.

This initiative has been taken by the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) in Dahanu division.

"Earlier, local tribal students found it extremely difficult to get their caste certificates required for further education or jobs. They had to run from pillar to post. But a pilot project was carried out, under which these documents were issued to the students at their ashram school itself. The exercise worked out well and it addressed the issues faced by the students and their parents," ITDP project officer and sub-divisional officer (Dahanu) Ashima Mittal said.

"Therefore, we decided to extend the programme. Now, 33 government-run ashram schools in Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu and Talasari tehsils, will be covered under it. Students from Class 8 to 12 will benefit from this," she said.

The caste certificates of 6,000 students would be issued in the near future, she added.