Students from SC, ST, OBC, Maratha and EWS category can avail the facility.
The Maharashtra government has changed the the eligibility criteria to apply for the overseas education scholarship.
As per the recently declared advertisement inviting applications for the scholarship given to students coming from OBC and SC category, applicants need to have scored 75 per cent and above in graduation as opposed to 60 per cent mark, which was the cut-off till last year.
This last-minute change, according to students, is going to hamper higher education plans of many of them. Eknath Wagh, son of a small-scale farmer from Buldhana district who secured admission to prestigious Harvard University for MA in Education Policy and Analysis, said that the new change in poliy has made him ineligible to apply for the scholarship.
A first-generation learner from his family, Eknath had scored 71 per cent in his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Fergusson College in Pune.
He said, “The gold medallist from my batch had scored 76 per cent. This is proof that in the Arts stream 71 per cent is a good score. Even Harvard University, which takes approval as per international standards, has accepted it.”
Eknath highlighted that eligibility criteria for similar scholarship by the central government too prescribes a 60 per cent score.
Students complain that they came to know of this change only when the advertisement inviting applications from OBC students was out on June 5, 2024
As per the revised criteria, whether a candidate is seeking the scholarship to pursue post-graduation or PhD, he/she needs to have scored 75 per cent and above in graduation and post-graduation, respectively.
Maharashtra government provides scholarships to meritorious students coming from marginalised sections of society for their higher education plans abroad.
Students from SC, ST, OBC, Maratha and EWS category can avail the facility. As of now, advertisements inviting applications from SC and OBC students are out with the changed eligibility criteria.
But students believe that eligibility criteria for others will also be changed as per this. Raju Kendre, founder of Eklavya Global Scholars Program where aspiring students from marginalised communities, especially from interiors of Maharashtra are mentored for higher education opportunities in India as well as abroad, said, “If someone is already admitted to top-tier universities, criteria like this still gatekeep opportunities for students from marginalised communities. This reflects the elite-centric, meritocratic approach of the Indian education system. It shows how our policies are ultimately not centered on serving the marginalized sections.”
Kendre said that more than 30 students from Eklavya Global Scholars Program have already received offers from many global universities in the top QS 100 ranking.
But due to this last -minute change in eligibility criteria, they are all now stressed. “Many global opportunities increase their stipends yearly to match inflation. But recently, the state and the central governments have slashed the fund amount by putting a cap and that is concerning. This may add to students’ struggle in foreign countries,” he added.