CM Palaniswami urged to recall GOs trimming SC/ST scholarships

The students who gathered near the Government Guest House in Chepauk were prevented from taking out a march towards the Secretariat. After a mild scuffle, the students squatted on the road pressing a charter of demands. The police coerced the protesters into talks with top officials. 

Police officials took a section of protestors to meet the officials in the Secretariat, where they presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister. The students were assured that they would get an appointment with CM to explain the issue in detail. 

Speaking to reporters, the students urged the CM to consider their request to reinstate the scholarship accorded for management quota to Rs 85,000. The same was downwardly revised by a GO, and was fixed at Rs 50,000. This has forced the students from SC/ST communities to discontinue their higher education since colleges and institutes which had admitted them are demanding the students to pay up the remaining Rs 35,000, besides mess and hostel fee. The students noted that a similar situation arose during former CM J Jayalalithaa’s regime in 2013, and the move was revoked after it was brought to her notice. 

The other demands made by the students include reviving the web-portal which allows online application of scholarships, to disburse the revised scholarships before semester examinations, to revise the maintenance allowance which remained unchanged for a decade.