Mumbai: The state government has increased the number of beneficiaries of its free coaching scheme for Maratha students aspiring for the state and union civil services exams.
The state Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil announced that the pre-exam preparation scheme will now cater to 750 candidates of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and 500 candidates of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). Until now, the scheme was extended to a maximum of 250 candidates in each category.
The state will also increase the stipend given to beneficiaries - from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 for MPSC aspirants and Rs 8,000 to Rs 13,000 for UPSC aspirants. The amount is given to the aspirants for a period of eight months.
The move is aimed at bringing parity to various schemes run by the state for youths from marginalised communities including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Castes (OBC). At a recent meeting of a sub-committee of the state cabinet to provide various facilities and reservation to Marathas, Patil directed the authorities to extend the benefits meant for caste and tribal groups to Marathas as well.
The state government's autonomous bodies such as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI), Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research & Training Institute (MAHAJYOTI) and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI) run various educational and training programmes for SCs, STs, OBCs and Marathas, respectively.
Even as the Supreme Court (SC) in 2021 struck down the state's 12% and 13% quota for Marathas in education and jobs, respectively, the state has undertaken several measures to uplift the community. Among other initiatives, the government is constructing hostels for Maratha students, with those who are unable to avail of hostel facilities to be given a monthly allowance of Rs 6,000. It has also decided to provide seed funding and other resources for Maratha youths to be self-employed.
While welcoming the decision to provide exam prep to more Maratha students, Kuldeep Ambekar, President, Student Helping Hands, a Pune-based student organisation, said that the government should train students for other competitive exams as well. "The success ratio in civil services exam is usually very low. hence, it doesn't make sense to allot all the resources towards them only," he said.
