(a) whether any Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir youth is in place
for them to take advantage of the educational institutions outside the State and if so, the
details thereof;
(b) whether the Ministry and Department of Higher Education which provides 5000
fresh scholarships per annum is not sufficient keeping in view the prevailing situation and if
so, the details thereof; and
(c) whether the Government proposes to increase the scholarship from 5000 to 10000
per annum?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(DR.SATYA PAL SINGH)
(a) & (b) The Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir is being implemented
since 2011. The scheme aims to encourage the youth from Jammu & Kashmir to take advantage
of the educational institutions outside the state, which would provide them an opportunity, to
interact with their counterpart from the rest of the country, thereby be part of the
mainstream. Scholarship is provided towards Tuition fee and Maintenance allowance. The rate of
scholarship towards tuition fee for General Degree course is Rs.30,000 per annum, for
Engineering course is Rs.1.25 lakh per annum and for Medical studies is Rs.3.0 lakh per annum.
Fixed Maintenance allowance of Rs. 1.0 lakh per annum is provided to all students.
It is envisaged to provide 5000 fresh scholarships (2830 for Professional/Technical
course, 2070 for General Degree course and 100 for Medical course) every year. There is a
provision of inter-changeability of slots among Medical and Engineering stream, subject to the
savings accruing from any shortfall in the number of students opting for General Degree courses.
Based on the utilization of the scholarship slots in the last 4 years by the eligible meritorious
students seeking quality education outside the state, it is apparent that the scholarship slots are
sufficient.
(c) No, Madam