Tribal Students' Union Threatens Protests Over Delayed Scholarship Disbursement
In Tripura, the Tribal Students’ Union issued a stern warning on Wednesday, saying they are planning to launch a surprise and widespread protest involving students from all regions of the state if the Tribal Welfare Department does not disburse the overdue scholarships for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students by September 15.
During a press conference held today in Agartala, Sujit Tripura, the general secretary of the Tribal Students’ Union, expressed his frustration, accusing the Tribal Welfare Department of negligence. He claimed that a significant number of ST students have been unjustly deprived of their scholarships due to the department's inefficiency.
Drawing on data from the Tribal Welfare Department, Sujit Tripura highlighted that out of 35,665 students whose documents were verified so far, at least 14,393 ST students are still awaiting their post-matric scholarships. In addition, from a total of 12,299 students eligible for pre-matric scholarships, a staggering 9,473 have not received the funds yet.
He further mentioned that the government had originally committed to distributing these scholarships by March this year. However, the delay has caused substantial hardship for ST students who rely on these funds to continue their education.
"Many ST students dependent on these scholarships are facing serious difficulties in pursuing their post-matric or pre-matric studies due to this prolonged delay," he said.
Sujit Tripura also pointed out that the Union members had previously attempted to discuss the issue directly with the Tribal Welfare Minister. However, their efforts were in vain as the minister was not available for his surprise field visits.
"We tried to approach the minister of the Tribal Welfare Department earlier, but due to his surprise visits, he could not give us time to discuss the scholarship issue," Sujit Tripura commented.
In light of these grievances, the Tribal Students' Union has decided to mobilize students across the state for what they call a "surprise movement" if the issue is not resolved by the stipulated deadline. "We are ready with the students to launch a surprise movement very shortly," Sujit Tripura warned. He emphasized that if the scholarships are not disbursed by September 15, the union will organize a historic protest in Agartala.
(Tripura, Tripura News)
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