The Department of Higher Education has set up a ‘Merit-Come-Means Linked Financial Assistance Scheme’ of the Delhi Higher Education Aid Trust to guarantee the deprivation of access to excellent higher education to any student due to financial constraints.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday handed over checks worth Rs 48.14 crore to 6,820 students pursuing higher education under the Delhi government’s ‘Merit-Come-Means’ financial assistance scheme. In the last three years, more than 13,000 students have benefited under this scheme to the tune of Rs. 87 crore.
To ensure that no student is deprived of higher education due to financial constraints, the Department of Higher Education has formulated a “Merit-Come-Means Linked Financial Assistance Scheme” of the Delhi Higher Education Aid Trust for granting access in the 2017-18 academic year. For quality higher education of students irrespective of their economic background.
Mr Sisodia said that in the initial year of the project, less than 2,500 students had benefited from it and a budget of Rs 14 crore had been allocated for it. “It is a great pleasure that this year, 6,820 students are benefiting from this project. This year, the budget for this project has been increased to Rs 48 crore,” he said.
“Vice-Chancellors and faculty members of higher education institutions have made significant contributions. Until 2015, these institutions of higher learning in Delhi were not even included in the top 50. Today, they are in the top 10 positions in various university rankings.
“We have been included in the list of top universities in the country, but the day is not far when Delhi’s higher education institutions will be among the top in the world. We have to work tirelessly to achieve this,” he added.
He said that there are three types of countries in the world – developed, developing and underdeveloped. “When we were in school, India was in the category of a developing country and even today, it is in the category of a developing country.
“Today, in ordinary Indian homes, when it comes to educating children, there is talk of sending them to Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge. “The day our universities become a dream for families in countries like the United States and Japan, we will proudly teach our children that India is no longer a developing country, but a developed country,” he said.
Under the Delhi government’s scheme, 100 per cent financial assistance is given to children of ration card holders in the first category. In the second section, students who have an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh are covered and receive 50 per cent financial assistance. The third class includes students whose annual family income is more than Rs 2.5 lakh but less than Rs 6 lakh and they get 25 per cent financial assistance.
To avail the benefits under the scheme, a student must ensure at least 60 percent marks in graduation. The Delhi government has provided Rs 14.16 crore to 2,429 students in 2018-19, Rs 24 crore to 3,760 students in 2019-20 and Rs 48.14 crore to 6,820 students in 2020-21 under the scheme.
(PTI)