SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, July 15: In a move to expand the opportunities for the youth of Jharkhand to promote research and attain quality higher education from world-class universities, the Jharkhand Government has redesigned the ‘CM Fellowship Scheme’ as ‘CM Fellowship Scheme for Academic Excellence’ under which 1000 students will be sponsored yearly to pursue PhD from government and private universities.
Under the scheme, every deserving student will get Rs 25,000 every month for four years. The criteria to get the fellowship is that he or she should be UGC NET/CSIR NET qualified. Those who are admitted to the PhD course after clearing the Jharkhand Eligibility Test (JET) will get Rs 22,500 every month.
Higher Education Secretary Rahul Purwar told The Jharkhand Story the scheme will be operational within three months. “We are creating a portal to process the applications and offer the fellowship. It will begin the day the portal is ready,” he added.
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According to Purwar, the aspirant should be a permanent resident of Jharkhand and the State’s reservation policy will apply in allotting seats. “If the number of candidates increases in a particular category, those having lesser income will get priorities,” he added.
Notably, the CM Fellowship scheme was launched in 2017 by the then-Raghubar Das government. However, it faced many hiccups and did not attract meritorious students.
When Hemant Soren was at the helm, he announced the expansion of this scheme to cover more and more meritorious students to pursue their dream of higher education. In the first phase, the government selected 25 youths under the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Scholarship to study in foreign universities.
Rs 2 lakh for paper presentation
The government has also framed a policy to encourage students to pursue research. If their papers are accepted to be presented in the top 500 universities of the world (based on QS World University Ranking), he/she will get Rs two lakhs. “100 (UG/PG/other higher education courses) students to get the benefit of this programme every year,” Purwar added.
The government will also offer Rs. 50,000 incentives to 200 students studying at the colleges and universities in Jharkhand for presenting papers in the top-ranking universities outside Jharkhand.
Scholarship for studying abroad
The government will also give scholarships to 50 students from Jharkhand to study in foreign universities. The government will bear the entire tuition fee and Rs six lakhs for other expenses.
Teaching Assistants
The government will also appoint teaching assistants from among the students who will assist the junior students and teachers to help in assignment checking, doubt clearing and lab work. They will be selected by the head of the department of the subject concerned.
According to Purwar, one teaching student will be selected by the head of the department for 20 to 40 students and two for students over 40. They will get an incentive of Rs 1500 for graduate/Polytechnique courses and Rs 2000 for PG courses.
There is yet another scheme to enrol students as Research assistants who will assist the PhD scholars to assist in their research works.