Post-matric scholarship of about Rs 16 crore withheld by Punjab government: SGPC president

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], October 13 : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President, Harjinder Singh Dhami, asked Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to immediately release the outstanding amount of crores of rupees of the post-matric scholarship scheme of the government for the Scheduled Caste (SC) students receiving education in the institutions of SGPC especially Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib, said a press release by SGPC on Friday.
According to the official release, Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the Punjab Government has also ignored the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to immediately release 40 per cent of the outstanding post-matric scholarship amount for the academic session 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 and multiple organizations are still waiting for their pending amount to be released.
The non-seriousness of the Punjab government is reflected in the fact that it has failed to appoint a Principal Secretary in the Social Welfare Department after August 31, 2023, due to which the payments to the institutions have stopped, said Dhami.
He further said that the government started a post-matric scholarship scheme for SC students to support them in pursuing higher education, of which 60 per cent is contributed by the central government and the remaining 40 per cent by the state government.
Dami said that multiple institutions have been pushed into financial crisis due to the non-release of the due amount under this scheme by the Punjab government.
He said it is unfortunate that on the one hand, the Punjab Government has started accepting applications from eligible students for the academic session 2023-24, and on the other hand the scholarship amount for the session 2022-23 has not yet been released to most of the higher education institutions.
As per the guidelines of the scheme, the post-matric scholarship for the session 2022-23 was supposed to be released by the government by February 2023, but it has not been released yet, said the press release.
Apart from this, institutions are already facing financial loss due to low fee capping in many courses by the government, so the unnecessary delay in the release of capped fees will not only add to the problem for the institutions but also for every employee and due to this, the education sector of the state of Punjab has been pushed further into a deep financial crisis, added the press release.
According to the press release, Dhami said that Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University provides financial assistance to poor and needy students who are not eligible for any government scholarship, due to which a large number of poor students are getting education, but the government has turned a blind eye to its responsibility in helping such charitable organizations.
He further said the SGPC is making its due contribution in establishing the reputation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib at the international level. The faculty is striving for international standards, which is quite evident from the placement of its students in reputed companies in India as well as abroad.
The SGPC also provides financial assistance to the university from time to time.
"The post matric scholarship amount of about Rs 16 crore has been withheld by the Punjab government. The Punjab government should release this amount immediately as this university has been established with the aim of inculcating moral values among the youth of Punjab, which is the need of the hour. I insist that the Chief Minister should consider this on priority", said SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami.