Chennai: Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the abrupt withdrawal of the minority scholarship provided under the pre-matric scholarship scheme to students of classes 1 to 8 from the year 2022-2023, and urged him to put the decision on hold. This would affect all scholarships for children in classes I-VIII, he said. "I want to point out that this stance goes against the principle of supporting the needy in the crucial years of their early education."


Withdrawal of Scholarship


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In 2021-2022, Rs 86.76 crore was allocated to 4,49,559 Tamil Nadu students under the scheme. With the withdrawal of scholarship by the Union government, nearly five lakh poor minority students studying from 1st to 8th standard in Tamil Nadu would be adversely affected and deprived of the benefits of scholarship, the Chief Minister pointed out. Education is the most powerful tool for empowering the poor and assisting them in living dignified lives. The Ministry of Minority Affairs declared in a letter dated November 29, 2022 that the Right to Education Act required the government to provide free and compulsory primary education (from classes I through VIII) to all children.


Eligibility Criteria


Only students studying in Classes IX and X would be eligible for the pre-matric scholarship scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. In 2008-09, the Centre launched a pre-matric scholarship programme for minority students. If their parent/annual guardian's income is less than Rs 1 lakh, minority students in classes 1-10 studying in government/government-aided and all recognised private institutions are eligible for this scholarship.



"Multiple surveys over the years have demonstrated that minorities, especially Muslims, are lagging in education. This scholarship supports poor, underprivileged, and highly marginalised students, including girls, to access quality education and, therefore, must be continued. I, therefore, request you to put the decision on hold and restore the pre-matric scholarship scheme to all minority students studying from 1st to 8th standard,” said CM M.K Stalin.