Nearly 480 female students from J&K, 504 from NE get technical education scholarship in ‘20-21
Nearly 480 female students from J&K, 504 from NE get technical education scholarship in ‘20-21
Awardees from J&K and Northeast were much higher in 2020-21 compared to 2019-18 after AICTE decided to give scholarship to all poor female students from these regions irrespective of merit.
New Delhi : Nearly 500 female students from Jammu and Kashmir and a similar number from Northeastern states were awarded the scholarship ‘Pragati’ by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for the year 2020-21.
A technical education scholarship, ‘Pragati’ is awarded to female students pursuing courses such as engineering and management among others, and is awarded for both diploma and degree-level courses.
The 2020-21 tally of scholarship awardees is a massive jump from 2019-20, when zero students from J&K and only eight students from the Northeastern states were able to secure this scholarship. A similar trend was seen in 2018-19 as well, ThePrint has learnt.
According to authorities, the spike in scholarships is indicative of an increased interest in technical education among women, especially from remote areas.
“ We have awarded scholarships to women from some of the most untouched regions like Poonch, Ganderbal, Doda, Kishtwar in J&K and some backward regions of Tripura and Nagaland.
This shows that there is interest among women to pursue technical education and if given financial support, they will definitely participate,” a senior official from AICTE told ThePrint.
This rise can also be attributed to an increase in the number of scholarships offered as well as a change in policy.
Till the 2019-20 academic session, the council offered 4,000 scholarships but from 2020, the number was increased to 10,000.
Furthermore, till last year the scholarships were handed out based on merit. However, in 2020, the council decided that the applications of all poor female students from some states and Union Territories — namely J&K, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar, Daman and Diu and the Northeastern states — will be accepted, irrespective of merit.
