Scholarship dues of over Rs 600 crore payable to colleges by the State Government are reportedly awaiting disbursement, leaving professional educational institutions grappling with severe financial crisis. Highly placed sources indicate that although the State OBC Welfare Department has processed release of the amount, colleges are waiting for funds to reach their accounts. The pending amount also includes dues from the previous academic year, adding to financial burden of institutions running professional courses such as engineering, architecture, pharmacy, medicine and MBA programmes.

 

These courses are offered by self-financed private colleges, which depend significantly on timely reimbursement of scholarship amounts to meet their operational expenses. Scholarships are disbursed through different departments based on students’ categories. In the case of Other Backward Classes (OBC), the scholarship amount reimbursed against students’ fees is shared by the State and Central Governments in the ratio of 40:60, respectively. With Diwali approaching, college managements are worried about their inability to pay salaries and bonuses on time. A representative of a college management, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ‘The Hitavada’, “Diwali is round the corner, but we do not have sufficient funds to pay bonuses and salaries to our staff. The Government must take a serious note of the situation. If the amount is being released, the disbursement should be expedited and completed immediately.” While some colleges have received scholarship reimbursements for academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25, many institutions are still awaiting their dues. Colleges are required to submit applications to the respective departments responsible for reimbursement.

 

Nagpur regional office forwards bills to the head office for approval, following which the sanctioned amount is transferred through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism. Prolonged delay has made it increasingly difficult for institutions to meet recurring expenses, including salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff, provident fund (PF) contributions, tax deducted at source (TDS) payments, electricity bills and staff advances. In several institutions, salary payments have reportedly been delayed for the past six to eight months or even longer. The problem is not limited to OBC scholarship reimbursements. Students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) category are also reportedly facing delays in receiving maintenance allowances and examination fee reimbursements, further highlighting the difficulties arising from the delayed disbursement of educational benefits.

 

A college office-bearer said the problem recurs almost every year and called for a permanent mechanism to ensure timely reimbursement to institutions. “Every year, colleges have to face this problem. Why cannot the Government establish a system to ensure that reimbursement reaches institutions on time? There is a Government Resolution (GR) stipulating that 90% of the disbursement should be completed before the commencement of the academic session. Unfortunately, this provision has not been implemented since its inception. Why does the Government fail to implement its own order?” the office-bearer asked.