Highest number of scholarships to minority students given

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee-government has processed the highest number of applications in the country this year to give scholarships to students from the minority communities.

Sources in Nabanna said that this year, the state government has so far processed applications of 3,3,46,700 students. The figure is quite high compared to that of 2016-17. Last year, the state government had provided scholarships to 25,08,813 students from the minority communities.

In a bid to extend support to maximum number of meritorious students, the state Minority Affairs department has taken various steps in the current year. Finally, the top brass of the department found that number of applications processed this year to give scholarships is highest in the all India level as well.

Scholarships have been given to students in three levels and they are — pre-matric that is for students from Class I to X, post-matric for Class XI and XII students and post-matric stipend under talent support programme. The post-matric stipend under talent support programme is for students who pursue higher studies upto PhD level.

According to a data prepared by the West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (WBMDFC), till August 25, the state government had processed applications of 12,26,847 students for scholarships. The number got doubled in next one month and it was around 26.31 lakh. In October end, it has reached 33.46 lakh.

According to a senior official in the state secretariat, special camps were organised across the state to help students from minority communities in the registration process to get the scholarship. There were around 8,324 camps and there were computer and Internet facilities in each of the camps. It helped the students immensely as they did not face any inconvenience for registration.

At the same time, senior officials of the department and WBMDFC were pressed into action in the districts to supervise the entire process. The officials had taken all necessary steps as and when required to assist the students.

The maximum number of applications, that stands at 6,08,201, came from Murshidabad followed by 4,58,452 applications from South 24 Parganas. Applications of around 4,216 students from the newly set up district, Jhargram, have also been processed.

It may be mentioned that the Mamata Banerjee-government has taken several initiatives to extend support to students from the minority communities to help them continue with their studies. Most importantly, the post-matric stipend under talent support programme is helping the students to carry on with their higher studies.