Odisha announces cash help to higher education students of under-privileged family

Odisha government on Friday decided to provide financial assistance to the children ofunder privileged families to pursue higher education, officials said. Under the new Financial Assistance Scheme, students of under privileged class will be provided Rs 20,000 annually for pursuing both graduate and post-graduate courses. In order to avail the new scheme, the beneficiary student should belong to HIV/AIDS affected family, parents suffering non-curable diseases, landless or homeless family, child of a single mother, women headed family in case of non-earning spouse.    

A decision in this regard was made at a meeting presided over by Higher Education Secretary B P Sethi.    

Though the Department of Higher Education has implemented various schemes to make higher education inclusive and to increase the gross enrolment ratio, the government decided to start a new one for under students of privileged families.    

There are programmes like E-Medhabruti, Kalinga Sikhya Sathi Yojana and Green Passage to provide free education to orphan students pursuing Plus II to post-graduate education.    

The new assistance scheme will be limited to the duration of the course and will be given each year till completion of the course, Sethi said adding that the department has listed eligibility criteria for applying under the scheme.    

The student should have enrolled for under-graduate and post-graduate courses on regular mode from recognized colleges, institutions, universities in the state.    

And income from all sources of the family to which student belongs, should not be more than Rs 1 lakh per annum, he said adding that the financial assistance will be given through bank accounts.