Vaiko demands release of post-matric scholarships

Students in self-financing engineering colleges should be given their post-matric scholarship immediately, MDMK general secretary Vaiko said.

The Adi Dravidar students and Christian converts from the community have not received their post-matric scholarship for 2017-18. Students belonging to below poverty line families were being threatened by the college managements that they would be debarred from writing the semester exams if they did not pay the fees, he said in a statement.

Those in their final year were being denied their certificates citing the balance of fee payment, he said.

The State government has not opened up the portal for the first year students to register either, Mr. Vaiko said. This has led to a situation where the students in the 2018-19 academic year would not be admitted to a college unless they pay the fees. The callous attitude of the State and Central government had left the students’ educational aspirations in a limbo, Mr. Vaiko alleged.