Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reviewed the ‘Pragyan Bharti’ fee-waiver scheme on Monday, which facilitates free admission to academic institutes under the state’s Higher Education Department. The scheme offers free admission to students whose parental income is less than Rs 2 lakh per annum.
According to the policy, any students whose parents’ annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh are entitled for free admission to higher education courses in the state. For the 2024-25 academic session, 57,469 applicants have been deemed eligible for the fee waiver, according to an official release. This number is expected to rise with the upcoming publication of the second merit list for undergraduate course admissions.
Mr Sarma instructed education department officials to launch a widespread awareness campaign to ensure that as many eligible students as possible apply for the fee waiver. He noted that some applicants faced difficulties enrolling as beneficiaries due to the unavailability of income certificates.
To address this issue, Sarma directed that ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) should be accepted as supporting documents in place of income certificates for the Pragyan Bharti scheme.
The Pragyan Bharti fee-waiver system exempts qualifying students from paying tuition fees, i.e., 100% of tuition fees are waived under this scheme. Under this arrangement, a student’s tuition money will be covered for the full course, whether it is a three-year diploma or a four-year degree.
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