Tribal Students Protest Scholarship Cut Outside Gujarat Assembly

Gandhinagar : Around 400 tribal students gathered outside Gate No 1 of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly to protest against the state government’s recent decision to discontinue scholarships for students admitted under the management quota. The police intervened and detained the demonstrators on Wednesday in Gandhinagar.

The state government, following a directive from the central government, recently issued a circular stating that students securing admission through the management quota would no longer be eligible for scholarships. 

On October 28, 2024, Gujarat’s government had updated the policy, declaring that students admitted under the vacant quota would automatically be categorised under the management quota.

Protesting students argue that this decision is unfair and will deprive over 50,000 tribal students of their rightful scholarships under the post-matric scholarship scheme. 

They claim that many educational institutions, including those offering diplomas, degrees, pharmacy, and nursing courses, have already granted admissions under the vacant quota, with students receiving freeship cards. Now, owing to the revised policy, these students face the risk of losing financial assistance.

“The government must immediately revoke this arbitrary decision,” demanded a protesting student. “If students have already been issued freeship cards, how can they now be denied scholarships?”

The demonstration was met with police action, leading to the detention of several protestors.