Colleges withdraw demand of DBT after meeting with Tawde

Colleges withdraw demand of DBT after meeting with Tawde

Pune: While the colleges across the State demanded that the scholarship money under the Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Educational Fees Scholarship Scheme be paid to them directly instead of being paid via the students, in a meeting with State Education Minister Vinod Tawde on Monday, it was decided that there will be no change in the original order.

The money will be given to the students through the DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) portal, and the students will then pay the amount to the colleges.

Tawde, in his tweet about the meeting, said, “The Government aims at all-round implementation of the Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Scholarship Programme. With upcoming launch of DBT portal, the funds will be directly deposited into the eligible students’ accounts, empowering their academic aspirations.”

The students will be given 50 per cent of the fees for non-professional courses, and 100 per cent fees for professional courses.

Speaking to Sakal Times, Vijay Narkhede, Joint Director of Higher Education, Pune region, who was present at the meeting, said that the colleges will be receiving their due reimbursements in two instalments, one in October and then in February.

He said, “In the meeting, it was decided that there will be no changes whatsoever to the scholarship scheme. Last year, the GR itself was out in October. However, the colleges have received their reimbursement in February this year, and they will receive the next instalment in coming October.”

The colleges have their own fears. “We were pushing for the money to be directly transferred to the colleges, as it was more practical. When it comes to us through the students, it is often delayed. Sometimes the students pay 15 days after they receive it, sometimes they delay it by more than a month. It is also possible that sometimes the students don’t pay the money at all. However, we respect the government’s decision and will abide by it,” AD Shaligram, Registrar, Savitribai Phule Pune University, said.

A city-based college principal, on condition of anonymity, added that while the government has given directives to hold the students’ results until they pay the fees, it’s not possible. “Government says that the colleges can hold the marksheet or leaving certificate if the student doesn’t pay the fees within 15 days of receiving the money. However, we need to keep a student-centric approach, so all we can do is appeal to them until they pay the fees. This is bound to increase our workload, and waste our time,” he said.

“If we fill and send a scholarship form of a student, and then it turns out that the student doesn’t fit into the criteria for the scholarship due to low attendance, and doesn’t get fees, the college would be in financial loss,” he 
pointed out.

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