Mumbai: Only 21 Maratha and Kunbi students have been selected for the state government's scholarship for studying abroad, even though the scheme has provision for 75 beneficiaries.
Announced in June and rolled out the next month, the scheme attracted only 70 applications for financial aid, of which only 21 applicants were deemed eligible.
The educational initiative, named after the Maratha ruler of erstwhile Baroda State Sayajirao Gaekwad, is one of the first decisions taken by the state cabinet after the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP joined the government.
The new educational scheme
The scheme offers financial aid to 75 aspirants - 50 Master's students and 25 PhD scholars - who have been selected by one of the top 200 institutes according to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. While the Master's students get Rs30 lakh, PhD candidates are awarded Rs40 lakh each. The programme is run by the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI).
The scheme's limited reach is revealed when Maratha leaders have intensified the demand for reservations at educational institutes and government jobs. The government has decided to re-invite applications for the remaining 54 slots. The candidates will have a month's time to apply.
SARTHI official calls it new educational scheme
“This is a new scheme and we are a new organisation. After the advertisement for the scholarship was issued following a government resolution (GR) in July, we got 70 applications. Some of these had already availed study abroad scholarships offered by the higher and technical education department. The remaining candidates couldn't fulfill the various criteria for eligibility,” said an SARTHI official.
The activists have criticised the government for the stringent conditions.
“The scheme was gathering dust at Mantralaya for eight months before the GR was finally issued. SARTHI took another month for the application process. Now it has been two months since the universities have started their classes,” said Kuldeep Ambekar, President, Student Helping Hands, a Pune-based student organisation.
