The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology distributed Rs 7.39 billion in scholarships for students studying at basic to higher levels in the current fiscal year, 2081.082.
The government has been providing 25 types of educational scholarships based on the students' economic, geographical, and other conditions. 1.571 million students have benefited from these scholarships. According to the information provided by the ministry, residential to non-residential scholarships have been distributed to students according to their needs in recent times.
Residential scholarships have been provided to 12,065 students from grades 1 to 12. Out of the Rs 603.2 million allocated for this, some of the amount has been distributed, while some is yet to be distributed. Residential scholarships include students with disabilities, free Kamlari, female students studying in feeder hostels, students studying in approved quotas in model schools run in public-private partnerships, and Himalayan residential scholarships.
Apart from that, scholarships given to students from the most marginalized communities, scholarships given for residential arrangements for street children and child laborers, scholarships given to HIV-affected and children from the Badi community are also included under residential scholarships. The ministry has stated that scholarships are being provided to students from all these groups at the rate of Rs. 50,000 per student per year.
Similarly, the ministry has provided financial assistance to 1.54 million students under the heading of non-residential scholarships. The ministry has stated that Rs. 627 million has been spent for this. All students studying from grades 1 to 5 in Karnali Province are included under non-residential scholarships, but the scholarship amount varies according to the district.
Under this, financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 per year has been distributed to female students from grades 1 to 5 in Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Dolpa, and Kalikot districts and Rs. 400 per year to female students from other districts of the same province. Under the non-residential scholarship, the ministry has been distributing financial assistance of Rs. 400 per student per year to Dalit students across the country studying in grades 1 to 5. Such scholarships have been provided to 552,000 students. For this, Rs. 210 million was spent.
Similarly, under the Mukt Kamalari scholarship, a lump sum of Rs. 1,500 per year has been distributed for classes 1 to 8 (basic level), Rs. 1,800 for classes 9 and 10, and Rs. 5,000 per year for classes 11 and 12.
Under the basic level, scholarships have been provided to 51,889 people, including 22 tribal and marginalized groups, descendants of Mukt Kamaiya, Badi, Haliya and Charuwa, from the target group studying only in grades 1 to 5. For this, Rs. 500 per student has been provided annually.
Apart from residential and non-residential, the Ministry has provided another scholarship of Rs 24,000 per year to students studying science and technical streams in 11th and 12th under the title of poor and targeted scholarships. Such scholarships are distributed only in a limited quota to poor and targeted communities. In addition, Rs 18,000 per year has been provided to students from the target group studying in other subjects in grades 11 and 12 and Rs 6,000 per year to all students studying in grades 6 to 10.
In addition, the Ministry has distributed Rs 59.4 million under the title of technical and vocational education scholarships. This scholarship has been divided into four different groups and distributed. Such scholarships are distributed to students studying pre-diploma and diploma.
The Ministry has provided higher education scholarships to students studying at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Such scholarships have been distributed under six different titles. From which martyrs and conflict-affected students, freed Kamlari, Muslim women, and students with disabilities have benefited. Such students have been given scholarships at the rate of Rs 24,000 per year. Rs 15,000 per year for general subjects and Rs 21,000 per year for technical subjects.
Shiva Kumar Sapkota, the ministry spokesperson and the planning division's joint secretary, informed that Rs. 5.11 billion has been distributed to 10,594 students for medical education scholarships. Recently, there has been a debate on increasing government investment in education from the school level to the university level, but even after distributing Rs. 7.5 billion to students through scholarships in one year, it cannot be said that government investment is not enough, said spokesperson Sapkota.
