‘Ensure wider publicity of Medhashree Scholarship’
Kolkata: The state Backward Classes Welfare (BCW) department has written to the School Education department and the district magistrates to take necessary steps for ensuring wide publicity of the Medhashree Scholarship.
The scholarship has been introduced by the Mamata Banerjee government for the benefit of the Other Backward Class (OBC) students.
With the central government deciding to discontinue scholarships for students of backward castes and minority communities, Mamata Banerjee recently announced the Medhashree Scholarship at a distribution programme organised in Alipurduar.
Directions have been issued where it is mandatory to tag inspectors to each school in the district and designate them as nodal officers. In this way, respective schools can apply for the scholarship.
A senior official from the BCW department said: “We want that all OBC students studying from class V to VIII and are eligible for availing the benefits of the project should be enrolled. Nobody should be left out. This will provide them more avenues for socio-economic and educational development by extending financial support and encouragement”.
The present rate of scholarship is Rs 800 per annum per beneficiary. The major criteria for availing of this scholarship are that the applicant must be a domicile in West Bengal and belong to the OBC strata, as per notifications of the BCW department. Also, only day scholar students studying in the state can apply for the scholarship.
The annual family income of the student should not exceed Rs 2.50 lakh. As per the admission form, a certificate to this effect by the competent authority is to be provided.
The Shikhashree portal of the state Education Department has been modified for the Medhashree Scholarship. However, the Backward Classes Welfare and Tribal Development Directorate will act as the nodal organisations for implementing the project.
West Bengal government also runs other scholarship programmes known as the Aikyashree Scholarship which aims to promote talented students and support them financially. It is an online scholarship programme that awards students belonging to economically poor backgrounds and minority communities.
