Nod to 1 lakh scholarships

Sun, May 11 12:05 AM

A cabinet committee chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday gave the green signal for implementation of a scholarship scheme that would annually help one lakh poor but bright students continue their studies beyond middle school. The scheme was cleared at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who prides on calling himself a product of the scholarship system.

In the past, Singh - who hailed from very poor agricultural families in west Punjab - has said he considered himself "very fortunate" because many people did not get the same chances that he did. Friday's decision to implement the scheme to provide financial aid to see students through higher and secondary school would ensure that one-lakh poor students - with an annual family income of less than Rs 1.

5 lakh - do not have to drop out of school. The dropout rate in classes I-VIII is about 50 per cent.

"The objective of the scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to stop them from dropping out at Class VIII and to encourage them to continue in the secondary stage up to Class XII," said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram after Friday's meeting.

A selection test would be held at the state level for students of Class VIII which would be conducted along with the first stage selection test of the National Talent Search Examination conducted by the state governments under the guidance of NCERT.The scholarship entitles class IX students to financial aid of Rs 6,000 per annum.

The scholarship would be continued till class XII on the condition that they secure 55 per cent marks in all annual examinations except the class X examination, in which they need to secure at least 60 per cent marks. The scholarship is meant for children studying in government, local body and government-aided schools only.

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