Free education to minority students in maharashtra till SSC

Mumbai, July 9 (UNI) The Maharashtra government will provide free education to minority students till SSC.

This will entail an expenditure of Rs 27.232 crore, and 75 per cent of the expenses will be borne by the Centre, according to an official release here today.

The students, who receive the benefit of the scheme, will have to secure at least 50 per cent marks in each class. The annual income of the parents should be less than Rs 1 lakh. Only two children from each family can avail themselves of the benefit.

Thirty per cent of the seats will be reserved for female students. Students availing themselves of this scheme cannot avail of any other educational incentive offered by the state government.

As per the state government's estimates, the number of students who can become eligible for the scheme after fulfilling the necessary conditions is 36,800 -- 21,680 Muslims, 2240 Christians, 460 Sikhs, 12,340 Buddhists and 80 Parsis.

The central government will be spending approximately Rs 7,400 on each student, the release said, adding that the Centre and the state governments are keen to implement the Sachchar Committee report.

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