Odisha CM announces deferred fee payment for SC/ST students in engineering, medical colleges

Bhubaneswar: Students from the economically weaker sections of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Odisha will not face any difficulty for payment of fees while enrolling themselves into the government medical and engineering colleges.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday announced that the students from SC/ST communities will not be required to deposit admission, tuition or other prescribed fees at the time of admission to government medical and engineering colleges.

As per the Chief Minister’s direction, eligible SC/ST students will be allowed to secure admission without depositing the required fees and will also be exempted from making such payments for up to six months after admission.

The decision aims to address the financial difficulties faced by meritorious students who qualify for competitive examinations and secure seats in professional courses but struggle to arrange the required funds at the time of admission.

Many students from economically disadvantaged SC/ST families receive scholarships from the Centre as well as the State government. However, the scholarship disbursement process often takes around three to four months. As a result, students frequently face difficulties in arranging admission and tuition fees before receiving their scholarship amounts.

Under the new arrangement, students will be able to complete their admission without paying the fees upfront and deposit the admission and tuition fees after receiving their scholarship money.

The Chief Minister’s decision is expected to provide significant financial relief to poor and meritorious SC/ST students and ensure that lack of immediate financial resources does not prevent them from pursuing medical and engineering education. The State government will soon issue detailed guidelines outlining the procedure and eligibility criteria for implementing the decision.