More exposure on education: AAP Government has cut down on all scholarship schemes meant for dalits
More exposure on education: AAP Government has cut down on all scholarship schemes meant for dalits
Delhi government fails to refute any of the facts presented by Swaraj India yesterday, their reply evades the main point;
New facts emerge about AAP government’s anti-dalit face: their government reduced the number of state scholarships for SC/ST/OBC students by more than 75,000 Swaraj India’s expose of Delhi government’s bogus claims on education have left the government and the party bosses rattled. Since they have no counter to the facts presented by Swaraj India – all based on official sources – they have resorted to the only thing they know best: using uncivil language and smear campaign. It is ironic that the leaders are using this uncivil language against the media and Swaraj India, all in the name of improving education! If this is the kind of education they wish to promote, God save Delhi from this transformation!
The Directorate of Higher Education, GNCTD, has issued a press release trying to refute the facts about Delhi Higher Education and Skill Development Guarantee Scheme. The press release simply reiterates the facts reported by Swaraj India based on the reply by the government to the assembly. But it evades the real issue and does not answer the point Swaraj India had made. Here is how Delhi government’s own document defines financial assistance under this scheme:
“Ordinarily loans upto Rs. 7.5 lakhs where conditions as prescribed under the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGSEL) of Govt. of India are satisfied can be granted by the Banks under the Govt. of India scheme as and when the same becomes operational. However loans above Rs. 7.5 lakhs & upto Rs. 10 lakhs and loans in respect of Private Institutions which presently do not have NAAC accreditation as required under Govt. of India scheme but have SFRC grading of A+ or A and otherwise satisfy the requirements under the scheme of Govt. of NCT of Delhi will be covered under this scheme.”
Clearly, loans up to 7.5 lakhs were to be covered by Central Scheme and the state government scheme is meant to cover only loans above Rs. 7.5 lakhs. The Government’s press release admits, as did the reply to the assembly, that the number of these students is only 3.
Meanwhile Swaraj Abhiyan has accessed facts about AAP’s record on implementation of special schemes meant for dalit students. It turns out that the AAP government has cut down the number of beneficiaries in every single scheme meant to benefit SC/ST/OBC students. Here are the facts, drawn from the Government’s own documents:
The number of school scholarships awarded to SC/ST/OBC students came down from 7,50,021 in 2014-15 to 6,79,976 in 2015-16, a massive reduction of 70,045.
A similar scheme meant for higher education, “Merit Scholarship for College and University students” for SC/ST/OBC went down from 13,898 to 8,361 during these two years, a shocking drop of 40%.
The beneficiaries of scheme for reimbursement of tuition fee in public schools to SC/ST/OBC students came down from 26,777 in 2014-15 to 23,650 in 2015-16, a drop of more than three thousands.
Worst of all, the scholarships for vocational and technical education meant for SC/ST/OBC students were 2,062 in 2014-15. The number was NIL for 2015-16.
These facts expose the anti-dalit face of the party trying to present itself as the party for dalits in Punjab. Swaraj India invites the Government of Delhi to respond to these facts and face the public, instead of trying to shoot the messenger. For their convenience, we attach the original table from which the data has been sourced.
