New Delhi: Aasma Khatoon sends two of her sons to an SDMC-run school in the West Zone. Her sons, Asmat and Asad, currently students of Class 4 and 5, are eligible for state-funded scholarships meant for SC/ST/OBC and minority students. However, they have not been receiving it.
Students are eligible for this scholarship from Class 1 onwards. Students in classes 1-8 should receive between Rs 1,500-3,000 per annum (depending on whether their school covers the cost of stationery, uniforms, etc.) but since 2016, students in several SDMC schools have not been receiving the aid money meant for them. In fact, two teachers from separate MCD schools with more than two decades of experience between them, have confirmed to Millennium Post that most of these SC/ST/OBC/Minority scholarships have never been received by the beneficiaries since 2016.
According to Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch documents reviewed by Millennium Post, an FIR has also been registered to probe the allegation that Rs 5.7 crore was siphoned off from the Education Department's bank account, meant for these scholarships.
The complaint was from the Deputy Director of Education, Central Zone, SDMC.
The Education Department was unavailable for comment after several attempts.
However, the Leader of the House Narendra Chawla said: "An inquiry is underway regarding this issue and three arrests have also been made. Once proceedings are completed, I assure you that the culprit will not be forgiven".
"Before 2016, the amount meant for minority students per school would be given to the principal who would distribute it to the students/parents. However, post-2016, MCD said it will streamline the process and deposit the money directly into the students' bank accounts. These students come from families where often no one has ever had a bank account. Most of them don't even have the correct documents to open one. We have been sending an accurate list of our minority students' details for the past four years but barely anyone has received any benefit.
Their parents come and ask us about the money, but we are just as unaware of its whereabouts as them", one of the teachers at Asmat and Asad's school said.
Khatoon, too, did not have a bank account. She opened one two years ago on being asked to do so by school authorities and gave the correct details to them so that the scholarship meant for her children could be received.
However, in the past two years, not even a single installment of that money has been deposited in her account.
Khatoon says that she has approached teachers, school principals, and even some MCD officials but to no avail. Most parents earn a daily wage. To meet any official high-up in the MCD, they need to sacrifice a day's income with no guarantee that their appeals will be heard.
On Tuesday, the Aam Aadmi Party's Prem Chauhan had raised the issue in the SDMC House, which was adjourned after a ruckus.
South MCD Mayor Anamika Mithilesh Singh, on the other hand, said "how can we suspend an officer solely on the basis of allegation against him/her? The AAP has to wait patiently for the investigation to be completed."