Students from Well-to-do Families Enjoy Free-ship Benefit in Educational Institutions

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA: The State government’s initiative to provide free admission to students belonging to low income families in provincialized HS schools and colleges is now being viewed as wastage of the government exchequer. While several crores of rupees of tax payers’ money are being allegedly drained off every year for no productive cause. The genuine poor students are moving from pillar to post to get admission in the provincialized institutions. The principals of the institutions contended that the Education Department should shun the present practice and evolve distinctive eligibility criteria so that genuine beneficiaries are benefitted.

The educational institutions are helpless and compelled to follow the government guidelines despite knowing well that the procedures have plenty of lacunae. Yet, there are ample opportunities to cap the malpractices. The principals of leading colleges in Tinsukia district viewed that the free-ship benefit should be extended only in the post-admission stage after students submit relevant documents seeking for free-ship and the refund would be made subject to thorough screening. During the last few years, the Education Department created another problem by extending benefits to students who were promoted to higher classes, subject to production of photograph of tree sapling that was planted the previous year and the onus of verification lay with the institution!

A senior government official, on the condition of anonymity, said in such type of schemes, more than 80 per cent unscrupulous people take advantage. Majority of guardians procure the income certificates by fraudulent means or by false declaration. While local SDC/circle office charge Rs 80 against a certificate as processing fee, the other non-government authorized offices like mauzadars, panchayats and gaon burahs allegedly charge an amount between Rs 200-Rs 400 per certificate.

Some guardians who are from well-to-do families have also applied for this scheme. In Tinsukia district, most of the rural people claim to be farmers or cultivators but are actually small tea growers with annual earning exceeding lakhs of rupees. Even students from affluent business families are allegedly enjoying the benefits.

Though the government is contemplating submission of PAN card to access the income of the parents, the question is who will bell the cat? The college staff are overloaded with other works and cannot be engaged in such a herculean task, opined a college principal. The conscious citizens have demanded that there should be a mechanism to screen actual beneficiaries so that the benefit reaches the actual target.