Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 10 Jul: The directorate of higher & technical education (DHE) on Wednesday said that the state government has, through the education department, disbursed the first installment of the post-matric scholarship, amounting to Rs. 26.78 crores, to a total of 8,338 students, while the second and final installment of the scholarship will be credited to the students’ bank accounts “by the next few hours or more.”
It said that it had disbursed the second and final installment of the scholarship, amounting to Rs. 95.057 crores, to 2,8005 students on receiving the amount from the union tribal affairs ministry and the state government on 3 July. It, however, stated that although the department had disbursed the scholarship on 3 July, the amounts could not be credited to the students’ bank accounts within 48-72 hours “due to some technical reasons in the NSP/DBT/PFMS system.” The issue was resolved only on Tuesday night, the directorate said.
“Accordingly, the scholarship amount was disbursed on 10 July, 2024, and the amount will be credited to the students’ bank accounts by the next few hours or more,” it said.
The directorate further informed that scholarship of 7,164 students could not be processed “due to Aadhaar-bank account related issues,” and that the matter has already been intimated to the students through auto-generated SMS via the NSP portal. The post-matric scholarship is a central scheme funded by the tribal affairs ministry, and the nodal department in the state is the SJETA, the release added.
Education minister P.D Sona, speaking to the media on Wednesday, informed that the funds were received in the state exchequer on June 20th. He stated that the department is investigating the reasons for the delay in scholarship disbursement, adding that the funds come from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs through SJETA. He suggested to Chief Minister Pema Khandu a long-term solution for the scholarship issue and proposed that SJETA handle it independently instead of placing responsibility on the education department. Sona emphasized that the education department is ready to assist for the greater interest of the students. He also mentioned that the fund disbursement was delayed due to the election process.
Meanwhile, assistant education secretary of AAPSU Lingdom Kame, said that at least 7100 students failed to receive the scholarship due to an issue with their respective bank accounts, for which the beneficiary students need to visit the bank. The remaining students didn’t receive the amount because their bank accounts are not linked with Aadhaar.
On Wednesday morning, a peaceful rally was initiated by Charpo Taffo Sonam, assistant finance secretary of ANSU, protesting the delay in disbursement of the Post Matric National Scholarship (PMNS). The rally demanded early disbursement of PMNS and a permanent solution to the annual delays. It started from Akashdeep and concluded at the Tennis Court near IG Park.
