Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday launched a post-matric scholarship scheme for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes category.
The chief minister also laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 50 crore at Amritsar’s Ram Tirath to mark Valmiki Jayanti.
Participating in the Valmiki Jayanti celebrations virtually, the CM also inaugurated a new Ram Tirath ITI campus while giving the go-ahead for the establishment of a skill development centre to prepare Dalit students for competitive exams, according to a government statement.Launching Dr BR Ambedkar Post-Matric SC Scholarship Scheme, the Punjab chief minister said it will ensure that poor students get free higher education, which the Centre unfairly deprived them of with an abrupt withdrawal of Rs 800 crore aid to the state.
The institutes will provide free education to SC students under the scheme against direct subsidy from the state government, the CM announced, adding that students will also get a monthly stipend to buy books and uniforms.