HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 24: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that colleges can now accept ration cards as income proof for getting a free admission in the undergraduate courses.
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The developments come after Sarma chaired a meeting with officials of state education department on Monday to discuss the fee waiver scheme under Pragyan Bharti initiative of state government.
During the meeting, Sarma also sought details on the progress and beneficiaries of the scheme till date and instructed officials to ensure widespread awareness on the scheme so that all eligible beneficiaries can apply.
The chief minister also instructed officials to accept the National Food Security Act (NFSA) certificate as income proof where income certificate is not available to make the scheme hassle-free for all students.
“College authorities have been directed to accept the family ration card instead of income certificate for students who have not been able to submit income certificates of their parents to avail free admission at college level under the Pragyan Bharati scheme of the Government of Assam,” Sarma wrote on his X handle.
Insisting that students stay focused on their objectives in spite of challenges, Sarma restated the state government’s promise to assist the students in their studies.
Under the Pragyan Bharati program, the education department has included fee waiver in admission to colleges, distribution of free textbooks, scooters, and subsidised hostel fees etc.
It is worth mentioning that according to a survey, it has been found that the functioning of Assam Samarth portal has led to greater transparency in data collection related to admissions into higher educational institutions in the state. These readily accessible data through the Assam Samarth portal, in turn, has enabled the authorities to keep real-time track of the number of beneficiaries under Pragyan Bharti.
Consequently, swift reimbursement of fee to educational institutions against admission of students under Pragyan Bharti has become possible.
