Now students can apply for 45 days maternity leave

Maternity leave will now be available for students too. The Haryana government has decided to allow married girl students in state universities and colleges to avail maternity leave benefits of upto 45 days from the upcoming academic year.

The proposal which was first implemented by Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar in January, last year will now be extended to all colleges and universities in Haryana. This would help girl students complete their education without any gap even after getting married.

Women students can avail maternity leave for a period not exceeding 45 days continuously on a single stretch, with prior permission of the chairperson of the department concerned, on submission of a valid medical certificate, said Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma.

"The idea is to encourage women to pursue higher education. It was seen, that a number of women students who were married or got married during the study period were compelled to drop out during maternity, or had to take a gap during the course of study, which affected their studies.

How maternity leave is granted for students:

As per the guidelines approved by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the maternity leave for women students would be granted by the competent authority on recommendation of government hospital authorities as applicable to government women employees, with the condition that the student would have to attend extra classes to complete attendance requirements for the specified course or professional or research programme.

The leave period would be excluded from total lectures delivered during the semester. However, the student will be required to appear in all minor and major examinations as per the schedule notified by the university.

OneIndia News