Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Hike scholarships for SC, BC students: VHR

Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM: Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumanatha Rao demanded hike in scholarships to SC, ST and BC students.

Addressing a media conference here on Sunday, he said: "If the Government doesn't provide adequate financial support for them to pursue education, what's the use of reservations?"

He recalled that the anti-student policies of the previous Government were responsible for the landslide victory of the Congress in the State and felt that both the Centre and the State Governments should give a better deal to students from the backward sections.

Mr. Rao said that delays in payment hostel stipend, mess charges and re-imbursement of mess charges was resulting in tension on university campuses. He demanded that the scholarships to BC and SC students be hiked from Rs.100 crores to Rs.500 crores and from Rs.500 crores to Rs.1,000 crores respectively.

Path to extremism

He felt that lack of financial help for education was driving students to extremist activities. He would present a memorandum to Sonia Gandhi at the Chief Minister's meeting to be held in Mussorie in this regard.

He demanded scrapping of G.O. 56 which fixes the maximum amount of post matriculation scholarship to SC students studying in self-finance courses at Rs.20,000 per annum or the actual fee, whichever was less. He said that he would take up the problems of Andhra University students with the Chief Minister.

National Students Union of India - AU Campus unit president D. Ranganadh Roy submitted a memorandum to the Rajya Sabha member seeking scrapping of G.O. 56.

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