Dehradun: The state government has become serious on the matter of irregularities committed by the institutions registered on the National Scholarship Portal and embezzlement of scholarship amount through fake documents. In view of the seriousness of the whole matter, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has given instructions to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT). In the initial investigation, it has been found that some institutions have received minority scholarship on the basis of fake documents. These include some madrasas, Sanskrit schools and other educational institutions. The Chief Minister said that the corrupt will not be spared.
Another scholarship scam in Uttarakhand: According to the data of 2021-22 and 2022-23 sessions provided by the Central Government, a total of 92 institutions of the state are under suspicion. Out of these, scholarship embezzlement has been confirmed in the preliminary investigation against 17 institutions. In some cases in these institutions, the number of students, identity card (Aadhaar card) and residence related documents have been found to be fake. Irregularities have been found in institutions like Saraswati Shishu Mandir High School in Udham Singh Nagar district and Vasukedar Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in Rudraprayag. Apart from this, institutions of Nainital, Haridwar and other districts are also under investigation.
CM Dhami orders SIT probe: On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the SIT will investigate the matter in depth. The role of the institutions involved in the scholarship scam as well as the concerned officials will also be reviewed. Instructions have been given by the central government to investigate seven points in this regard. These include identifying fake cases and registering an FIR against the concerned.
No corrupt person will be spared: On the scholarship scam, CM Dhami said that-
No irregularities will be tolerated in welfare programs like scholarship in the state. Strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty in this case. No one will be spared.
-Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand-
What is the minority scholarship scam? Actually another scholarship scam has come to light in Uttarakhand. In this, scholarship has been taken by showing Saraswati Shishu Mandir High School as a minority school i.e. ‘Madrasa’ on paper. On July 17, after the news of the scam in the scholarship given to the schools by the Central Government came to light, CM Dhami had ordered an investigation into it. The responsibility of the investigation was handed over to Special Secretary Minority Welfare Department, Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate.
This is how the scam was exposed: In Udham Singh Nagar district, details of documents of 796 children of Udham Singh Nagar district were sought to check the certificates of minority scholarship applicants registered on the National Scholarship Portal for the financial year 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Out of these, information about 456 children studying in 6 madrasas was found suspicious. The surprising thing was that the name of Saraswati Shishu Mandir High School, Kichha is also included in these schools. Mohammad Shariq-Atiq has been told to be the director of this school. It has been shown in the National Scholarship Portal that 154 Muslim children study here. It is worth noting that Saraswati Shishu Mandir Vidyalaya does not come under the minority school. Similarly, instructions have also been given to verify 125 Muslim students studying in Kashipur’s National Academy JMYIHS and its director Gulshafa Ansari, 27 children of Madrasa Al Jamia Ul Madaria and its director Mohammad Faizan.
What has happened so far? The second round of verification is going to start in the scholarship scam of minorities. In this, the students studying in 72 colleges of Uttarakhand will be verified again. Earlier, fraud was revealed regarding the student number of students in 17 colleges of the state.
What is the Center’s Minority Scholarship Scheme? Minority Scholarship Scheme is run by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. Under this, financial assistance is given to minority students for studies. Under this scheme, scholarship is given from class 1 to 10. This helps the students to continue their studies and get higher education. This scholarship scheme provides admission fee, tuition fee and maintenance allowance. Apart from this, this scheme provides tuition fee, examination fee and other educational fees for minority students studying in class 11 and above in recognized institutions.
