Rising People’s Party (RPP) has targeted the NDPP-BJP coalition over the delay in disbursing Chief Minister’s Meritorious Students’ Fellowship (CMMSF). In a press release, RPP accused the NDPP-BJP coalition of not even sparing class 10 students, saying the top 50 students of HSLC examination 2023 were yet to receive CMMSF even after a lapse of one year.
RPP pointed out that the chief minister, as per protocol, hands over Rs. 50,000 each to the top 50 students during the CMMSF programme held every year. However, RPP claimed that sources in the NBSE/education department confirmed that the chief minister’s office (CMO), which is the final authority to decide as and when CMMF programme is to be held, was yet to take a decision even after a gap of one year.
RPP stated that many of the students and their parents were made to run from pillar to post, adding that in the process the whole point in constituting CMMSF was rendered meaningless. “RPP can only surmise that the CMO has adjusted the funds meant for the meritorious students elsewhere. This adjustment is not a new phenomenon,” the party stated.
Claiming that the story was the same even for Post-Matric Scholarships, RPP said that every year the state higher education minister promises to release the Post-Matric Scholarship on time, but every year he delays the release of funds. RPP alleged that the minister was not embarrassed to give “concocted justifications” for the delay, year after year.
Further, RPP alleged that NDPP-BJP coalition neither had no vision nor priority for the education sector or any other sectors except for the construction sector where “profits can be made by cronies.” It maintained that as long as NDPP-BJP priority was on vanity projects like constructing a new rostrum at Kisama at the cost of Rs. 52 crore, quality education and students would continue to suffer.