Shabbir Ali slams TRS Government
Hyderabad, Oct.2 (Maxim News): Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Saturday alleged that as many as 1,29,719 students belonging to minority communities have discontinued their higher education under the TRS regime since 2014.
Addressing a press conference at his residence in Jubilee Hills, Shabbir Ali said that the statistics were based on the official data presented by Welfare Minister Koppula Eshwar in Telangana Legislature in the ongoing session. He said that the State Government has ruined the careers of over 1.29 lakh minority students by not giving them Post Matric Scholarships (MTF) and Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF). He said many bright students, including toppers, were forced to discontinue their education as they neither got Fee Reimbursement nor Scholarship amount from the State Government.
Citing an example, Shabbir Ali said one bright student from Nizamabad, Maria Sultana, studying Masters in Public Health from the University of Hyderabad approached him seeking help. Maria Sultana is the daughter of a senior journalist M.A. Rafeeq. She was the university topper in the All India entrance exam for the year 2020. She had secured a 9.8 GPA in the first semester and a 9.6 GPA in the second semester. However, she was unable to study for the third semester due to a delay by the Telangana Government in releasing the scholarship. She approached Shabbir Ali seeking financial assistance to pay the third-semester fee of Rs. 47,315.
Maria Sultana and her father Rafeeq were also present at the press conference and the girl requested the government to ensure that her studies do not get affected due to delay in the release of the scholarship amount.
Shabbir said that the case of Maria Sultan was just the tip of an iceberg. He alleged that the TRS Government stopped giving fund for Post Matric Scholarships and Fee Reimbursement as a conspiracy to prevent minority students from getting higher education. “When Congress party was in power in 2013-14, a total of 1,17,073 students were getting Post Matric Scholarships and the allocated amount was Rs. 35.77 Crore. Today this number got reduced to 71,591 and the allocation has been slashed to Rs. 18.92 Crore. The statistics of 2013-14 and also 2012-13 were furnished on 9th September 2017, by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao himself when he made a statement in the Legislative Council on Minorities Welfare,” he said.
“The TRS Government has become so insensitive that it is making false claims without any shame. As against the allocation of Rs. 15 Crore for the year 2019-20, only Rs. 7.28 lakh were released. But this figure was shown as “Rs. 0.0728 Cr”,” he said.
Shabbir Ali said that the data on CM’s Overseas Scholarship Scheme furnished by the Minister was self-contradictory. The State Government is silent on pending applications, but it is using those numbers to show more beneficiaries. For example, he said no amount was released in the year 2020. But beneficiaries are being shown as “297”. “Is the government counting all ‘Applicants’ as ‘Beneficiaries’? he asked.
The TPCC Political Affairs Committee Convener announced that the Congress party would approach all the students who discontinued their higher studies due to non-clearance of Fee Reimbursement or delay in clearing scholarships to take up their cases with the State Government. “By implementing schemes like Fee Reimbursement and Scholarships, the previous Congress Government tried to empower the Muslims and other backward classes with education. But TRS Govt is ruining their careers by either discontinuing or reducing funds for education-related schemes. He said that the Congress party would fight for such cases during the “Vidhyarthi, Nirudyoga Jung Siren” campaign launched today. (Maxim News)
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