Shimla – Thousands of Scheduled Caste (SC) students in Himachal Pradesh are at risk of losing their scholarships as the deadline to link Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts approaches. The Directorate of Higher Education has issued a final notice, stating that the scholarships of about 14,000 students under the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric SC Scholarship Schemes will be stopped if the Aadhaar linkage is not completed by March 20.
According to the department, these students have not updated their Aadhaar details with their bank accounts, which is mandatory for scholarship disbursement. With only a few days left, students have been urged to act quickly to secure their pending financial assistance.
As per the information from the higher education department, about 14,000 students’ scholarships have been withheld due to non-linkage. Under the Post Matric Scheme, the scholarships of 1,831 students for the academic session 2022-23, 1,066 students for 2023-24, and 2,701 students for 2024-25 have not been released. Similarly, under the Pre-Matric Scheme, 2,036 students from 2023-24 and 6,253 students from 2024-25 are yet to receive their funds.
The Directorate has instructed all government and private educational institutions to identify the affected students and help them complete the Aadhaar-bank account linkage without further delay. The department mulling to introduce special awareness campaigns in schools and colleges to spread awareness and parents of students who have not received their scholarships should also be contacted.
For students who do not yet have bank accounts, institutions have been advised to assist them in opening accounts at the nearest post office through India Post Payment Bank, where Aadhaar linking is completed during account creation.
This is the final opportunity for students to complete the process before their scholarships are permanently stopped. After March 20, no scholarship payments will be issued to those who have not linked their Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts.
