Scholarship for medical, engineering students: Govt to pay Rs 1,314 crore

Mumbai : Owning to the growth in education sector, the Maharashtra government has decided to pay 50 per cent fees of students of medical, engineering and other professional courses whose family income is less than Rs 8 lakh a year. As a result, the government will bear an whopping amount of Rs 1,314 crore, annually.

“Of the total amount, budgeting for Rs 1,200 crore for fees related to engineering and other professional courses has already been done,” Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said at a press conference here.

He said for the remaining Rs 114 crore, which relates to medical admissions, a government resolution (GR) has been issued.

Under the Rajarshee Shahu Educational Fee Scholarship Scheme, the government bears 50 per cent of the fee burden of students studying in professional courses and whose family income is less than Rs 8 lakh a year.

Accordingly, the scholarship money is directly transferred to the accounts of institutions where such students have taken admission.

The scheme covers 605 professional courses, including medical and engineering in both government and private colleges. Patil said about 5 lakh students will benefit from the scheme.

Also, the Director of Technical Education has been asked to take strict action against institutes taking excess fee from such students, the government had said earlier.