Thiruvananthapuram: Although it is already time to issue notifications for the next Lower Secondary Scholarship (LSS) and Upper Secondary Scholarship (USS), over 1 lakh students who passed the two tests in the past four years are yet to receive even one rupee as scholarship. The government is taking the students for a ride by not providing them the scholarships, citing the financial crisis faced by the State.
Students who pass the LSS examination in the 4th Standard are eligible to receive Rs 1,000 per year until the 7th class, while those who pass the USS examination in the 7th standard are eligible to receive Rs 2,500 per year until the 10th standard. The payment of scholarships has been pending since 2019-2020. It is learned that the government will need Rs 40 crore to settle the dues.
Despite multiple attempts by the Education Department to secure funds from the Finance Department, the latter has consistently declined, citing the financial crisis as the reason. Months ago, the Minister for Education demanded immediate release of funds, but even that has not yielded any results.
Meanwhile, details including the bank accounts of the students were collected multiple times through schools. Although new applications were collected last year from students eligible for the scholarships, there has been no follow-up action. As the financial crisis has deepened in the State, no one knows when the scholarships will be disbursed.
In the meantime, there was a suggestion to limit the number of scholarships. However, Pareeksha Bhavan has stated that, as in early years, all those who score a fixed percentage of marks will be eligible for the scholarships
Next tests on February 28
Thiruvananthapuram: The examinations for the next Lower Secondary Scholarships and Upper Secondary Scholarships will be conducted on February 28, 2024. The first paper will be from 10.15 am to 12 noon, and the second paper from 1.15 pm to 3 pm. Students can register their names for the examinations through their schools from January 12 to 22.
The notification for the examinations has been published on the website of Pareeksha Bhavan. Students who score 60% marks in LSS and 70% marks in USS will be eligible for the scholarships.
After four years, these examinations are being conducted on schedule in February. In the wake of the COVID pandemic, the examinations were conducted after the academic year in the past two years.