By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 31: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday announced that the Meghalaya Chief Minister Scholarship Scheme will be released to eligible students before Christmas this year.
Speaking at the launch of the first academic session of the Shillong Government College of Engineering at Mawlai Kynton Massar, he said the state government initially expected around 70,000 applicants, but was pleasantly surprised to receive over one lakh applications.
“We are in the process of verifying and screening all applications, which should be completed within the next few weeks. Once that is done, the CM scholarship will be officially released — and once again, before Christmas,” Sangma said, drawing applause from the first batch of engineering students present at the event.
The Chief Minister said the state government has been working for the past year with the Government of India to ensure timely disbursal of scholarship funds. Since almost 90% of the funds come from the Centre, delays in their release had previously affected the state’s ability to pay students on time.
“We requested the Centre to release funds promptly, but since they could not guarantee that, we sought permission to release the funds in advance from the state side — even if the central share comes later, after nine months or a year,” he said, adding, “Our main concern is that students should not suffer because of delays.”
Sangma noted that this proactive approach is not limited to scholarships alone, stating that the state has intervened in similar cases for ASHAs, muster roll workers, and SSA teachers, releasing payments from its own resources even before the Centre disbursed its share.
“We believe that teachers, workers and students should not bear the brunt of bureaucratic delays,” he said.
He shared a light-hearted moment, recalling how his eldest daughter once reminded him — through social media — of the importance of releasing scholarships on time, particularly for students from economically weaker backgrounds.
The Chief Minister explained that funds were earlier transferred directly from the Centre to students’ bank accounts, leaving the state with no flexibility to act in advance.
“Even if we wanted to release the money early, we couldn’t because once the Centre released its share, students would end up receiving double payments, and there was no way for us to recover the excess amount,” he further said.
