Pre-matric scholarship not withdrawn, clarifies Poojary

Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary on Tuesday clarified that pre-matric scholarships for SC, ST, OBC and minority students have not been discontinued.

In a statement, Poojary said that pre-matric scholarship comes "completely under the state government" and it would continue.

Poojary explained that online applications for pre-matric scholarship are open to eligible students. For those who have already been beneficiaries of the scholarship will be renewed using the Students Achievement Tracking System (SATS) data.

"Every year, SC boys get Rs 1,000 and girls Rs 1,100 for Classes 1-5. For Classes 6-7, boys get Rs 1,150 and girls Rs 1,250. In Class 8, boys get Rs 1,250 and girls Rs 1,350. Under this scheme, Rs 113.13 crore has been released and 6.84 lakh students have been approved scholarship worth Rs 78.77 crore," Poojary said. "For Classes 9 and 10, the union government gives 60% and state 40 per cent," he added.

Poojary's clarification came on a day Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP government for having stopped the pre-matric scholarship. "On one hand, they pay respect to Ambedkar. On the other hand, they do injustice to the oppressed classes," Siddaramaiah said.