Rs 100 cr more for post-matric scholarship: CM

Hyderabad, Jan 27 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy decided to allocate an additional Rs 100 crore to provide post-matric scholarship to students.

Reviewing the Social Welfare Department's performance with the senior officials at the camp office today, he directed the officials to ensure post-matric Scholarships to all the eligible students while denying them to ineligible, an official release said.

This amount of Rs 100 crore would be utilised towards sanction of maintenance charges of renewals for the fourth quarter of 2006-07 and also for payment of maintenance charges for the fresh students and fees for renewals and fresh for 2006-07, covering a total of 4,21,000 SC students, the officials said.

The Chief Minister also directed the officials to use the bio-metric (IRIS) system for ensuring transparency in scholarships and other benefits and to maintain correct attendance of the students in all the welfare hostels.

Dr Reddy noted that so far Rs 134.02 crore and Rs 84.53 crore had been released for providing post matric scholarships. The total of Rs 218.55 crore had been utilised towards sanction of arrears of scholarships of para medical courses up to 2005-06 and also for sanction of scholarships arrears of regular courses of 2005-06.

Further, the amount was also utilised for maintenance works for all renewal post matric courses up to December, 2006.

Briefing the activities of the department, the officials said there were 2,356 Social Welfare Hostels and other institutions, out of which 1,691 were for boys and 665 for girls, functioning with a maintained strength of 2,47,823 students during 2006-07.

UNI