The government’s decision to link Aadhaar with post-matric scholarships has left students a worried lot. Most of them have neither applied for new scholarships nor renewed their existing ones, as they are yet to get Aadhaar numbers.
The directive has especially become a problem for orphans and children of divorced couples. And, Social Welfare Department officials say they are waiting for government orders on relaxation of norms for orphans.
Nearly 15,500 students are eligible for scholarships at 611 institutions in Krishna district. Around 20,000 have to renew their scholarships for which the last date is December 8.
As on December 3, only 8,687 students have applied for fresh scholarships in the district, while 18,442 have sought renewal. Several students could not apply, thanks to absence of Aadhaar cards, while their income and caste certificates are pending at MeeSeva centres.
“I am a first year degree student. Though I am eligible for scholarship, I could not apply, as my parents are separated. I am purely dependent on scholarship. If I do not apply in the first year, I may not get scholarship in the next two years,” said a student preferring anonymity.
“We suffer for no fault of ours. The government’s decision to link Aadhaar with scholarships is a humiliation for us [orphans and children of separated parents]. We request the government to relax the norms,” said another student who lives in an orphanage.
“Some students do not have Aadhaar card details of their parents. We are eagerly waiting for good news on exemption on submitting parents’ Aadhaar Card details,” said a student whose parents are divorced.
Meanwhile, SRR & CVR Government College Principal V. Ravi said the problem had been brought to the notice of higher officials.
“We are expecting orders giving exemption from Aadhaar cards for orphan and semi-orphan students,” he said.
