Release Rs 245 cr funds for SC students in Punjab, Centre told

Punjab chief parliamentary secretary (local government) Som Parkash has asked the Centre to immediately release Rs 245 crore for disbursal of post-matric scholarships for scheduled castes (SC) students in the state.

Quoting the Punjab and Haryana high court directions pertaining to disbursal of these scholarships to students, Som Parkash, in his letter to the Centre, said while the private colleges could not be compelled to admit SC students without charging any fee, the same could be deposited from the funds allocated for post-matric scholarships.

This will help in mitigating the woes of such students, said Parkash.

He further suggested that the Punjab government should help such students to procure soft loans from banks.