New Delhi: While students across the country demand a fair and just education system, a parliamentary panel headed by a BJP MP has said it feels “disheartened” by the Union government’s approach towards a scheme meant to foster equity in education – the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Caste students. The scheme, meant to boost enrollment of Scheduled Caste students in higher education, has faced persistent delays in disbursement, which the panel had previously flagged to the government. The same panel has in its report tabled on Monday (August 10) expressed “shock” over the lack of special police stations for members of Scheduled Castes to register their complaints of atrocities they face, and of special courts to hear cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which was passed in 1989. The 31-member standing committee related to the department of social justice and empowerment (DoSJE), headed by BJP MP from Karnataka P.C. Mohan, has noted that the department has left marginalised students at the “mercy of states” instead of speeding up disbursment of scholarships, as previously recommended.The observations in the report come at a time when students have been protesting across the country over educational irregularities. It also comes when the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder, Abhijeet Dipke, who is Dalit, faces online and offline harassment over his identity.On July 25, youth protesters secured the resignation of former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak, but students are flagging numerous other concerns, including police harassment and gendered as well as caste-based abuse targeting those who participated in the protests.Not long ago, the Union government reversed the University Grants Commission’s equity and anti-harassment guidelines, following protests by a section of students. This reversal, too, is being opposed by a section of students.Judging by the parliamentary panel’s observations on steps taken the government to improve the functioning of the post-matric scholarships, not much has changed since its previous recommendations to the DoSJE. The same panel’s March report had flagged delays in the disbursement as states and Union territories had failed to complete the application formalities on time. The committee had recommended the government take steps to address the issue.However, the panel notes in its latest report that the DoSJE gave only a routine reply in its action-taken report. The DoSJE said that the National Scholarship Portal, through which the scheme is operated, opens in June for fresh applications from eligible applicants. It said that some states and Union territories take more time than others to open the application process, which could vary from a few months to a whole year. The government also said that states and Union territories with their own scholarship portals generally open them between July and September.“If all states/UTs align with the advanced timelines of completing the process by the end of third quarter and adhere to the prescribed schedule, the overall process of application, verification, and disbursement can be further streamlined, minimising delays and reducing spill over cases,” the department said in its reply.The parliamentary panel felt that this response signalled an attempt to shift responsibility and not solve the problem.It noted it was “disheartened with the reply as they had expected the [DoSJE] to find some solution to the persisting problem but the students have again been left at the mercy of the states”. The panel has now sought strict measures to ensure timely completion of scholarship disbursal. “The committee, therefore, reiterates its earlier recommendation as they strongly believe that unless the department of social justice and empowerment takes some strict measures for the completion of process within the prescribed time period, the trend of spillover to next year will continue,” it said.Not just delays, the panel also notes a decline in fund allocation by the Union government from 2023-24 to 2026-27. It called this “a matter of grave concern” that the DOSJE should take up with the Union finance ministry.The committee said its members “strongly feel that there is a lack of coherence between the central and state governments, due to which there is underutilisation of Budgetary Estimates, resulting [in the] surrender of funds,” it noted.Special police stationsThe panel has expressed “shock” that special police stations had not been set up three decades after the Atrocities Act made them mandatory. Nor had the panel been informed about a roadmap by the department in this regard.It noted that just seven states and Union territories had set up special police stations under the Act. It said that “necessary steps may be taken for early approval of the proposal submitted for consideration by Expenditure Finance Committee to make a provision in the outlay for 2026-27 to 2030-31” to establish these thanas, it said. It also sought the current status of the special police stations and special courts established so far across the country.