NHRC issues notice to CS, Gujarat for denial of dalit scholarships
20 Jun, 2013An application was filed with the Gujarat government under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get information about the status of the scholarship provided to the dalit students in Ahmedabad district.
The reply to the application, provided by the Department of Social Justice, stated that 3,125 dalit students in Ahmedabad district were not awarded scholarship. Out of total, 1,613 applications for scholarship are pending and 1,512 students have been denied scholarship due to lack of funds.
Allegedly, the government couldn’t provide sufficient answers about the whereabouts of Rs. 3 crore that was meant to be spent on scholarships for dalit students. Irked by the revelation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter and has issued notice the chief secretary, Gujarat. NHRC stated that if the reports were true, it would imply gross violation of human rights of the dalit students.
It is to be mentioned that the data furnished in the RTI reply was incomplete and comprised only of ITI, science, arts, engineering and medical colleges. No data was provided for the dalit children studying in schools.