Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) protested in Pune on Thursday over Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil's promise of full academic fee waiver for female students who come from families bringing in a total income of ₹8 lakh or less.
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Staging a demonstration at the Balgandharva Chowk, NCP (SP) workers led by the party's Pune City chief Prashant Jagtap chanted slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and demanded his resignation for "deceiving female students and parents" in the state, They held placards which read, "Tighadi sarkar, khotarde sarkar", "Fasvya ghosnancha takla sada, Maharashtra shikavnar Mahayutila dhada," and more.
Speaking to the media, Jagtap slammed the Kothrud MLA and said, "Patil made the announcement just before the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections was about to be enforced. The announcement was made keeping in mind that the election was going to be tough for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party. With this announcement, Patil has deceived female students and their parents of the state. Now, the parents don't have money to pay for college admissions and are forced to take loans."
Patil, in February this year, during the Joint Board of Vice-Chancellors (JBVC) meeting, said the Maharashtra government has sanctioned a complete academic fee-waiver for girls who come from families bringing in a total income of ₹8 lakh or less. This initiative, which was supposed to commence in the 2024-25 academic year, was poised to benefit over 20 lakh female students across the state.
Currently, the government covers the entire tuition fees for students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes admitted under reserved quotas in private institutions. However, for OBC, EBS, and EWS students with a family income cap of ₹8 lakhs, only 50% of their tuition fees are reimbursed.
Meanwhile, at an event on Sunday, Patil said that the government will soon come out with an order for free education of girls in the state. Due to the model code of conduct implemented for the Lok Sabha election, the order was delayed but it will be implemented soon, he added.
