Jamshedpur: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Wednesday demanded that scholarships of Schedule Tribe students should be hiked based on the prevailing inflation of the country.
There was hardly five per cent increase in the scholarship amount compared to the increasing inflation, said Praful Akant, in-charge of All India Tribal Students of ABVP, who was in the steel city in connection with the national conference of the two-day Schedule Tribal Professional students to be held here from February 23.
He said the government had enhanced the scholarship amount from Rs 350 to Rs 550 per month last year but it was insufficient for a student to manage compared to the increasing inflation and price rise of essential commodities.
Akant strongly advocated that the hike in the scholarship amount should be proportionate to prevailing inflation.
Referring the “pathetic” conditions of ST/SC students hostel across the country, Ankat said a urgent step needed to be taken to improve it.
Currently, we have over 4500 ST/SC students hostel in the country but unfortunately majority of them were in very bad shape with inadequate toilets and bathrooms, Ankat, who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Supreme Court last year following a survey conducted in this regard in 2008, said.
He said the apex court has taken congnisance of the PIL and hearing was likely to begin from next month
[SOURCE :-zeenews]