Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday conducted a comprehensive review of the ‘Pragyan Bharti’ scheme, which offers fee waivers for free admission into academic institutes under the state’s Higher Education Department. The scheme is aimed at students whose parental income is less than Rs 2 lakh per annum, making them eligible for free admission to higher education courses within the state.
According to an official release, a total of 57,469 applicants have been deemed eligible for the fee waiver in the 2024-25 academic session. The number of beneficiaries is expected to increase as the second merit list for admissions to undergraduate courses will be published soon.
During the review, Sarma directed education department officials to launch an extensive awareness campaign about the Pragyan Bharti scheme to ensure that the maximum number of eligible students can apply for the fee waiver.
The chief minister also addressed an issue highlighted in the review concerning the unavailability of “income certificates,” which has made it difficult for some applicants to enroll as beneficiaries of the scheme. To mitigate this, Sarma issued instructions that ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) should henceforth be accepted as supporting documents in place of income certificates for the Pragyan Bharti scheme.
