Pune: Major Announcement for Girls’ Education, Minister Chandrakant Patil to Inspect 100 Colleges, Review Fee Waiver Implementation
Pune: Major Announcement for Girls’ Education, Minister Chandrakant Patil to Inspect 100 Colleges, Review Fee Waiver Implementation
Pune: Maharashtra’s Higher and Technical Education Minister, Chandrakant Patil, has launched a comprehensive review of the state government’s fee waiver scheme for girls pursuing professional and medical courses. As part of his assessment, Patil made a surprise visit to Garware College in Pune today to evaluate the scheme’s implementation. He also announced plans to visit 100 colleges across the state to monitor the initiative’s progress.
The Maharashtra government introduced the fee waiver scheme to promote female enrollment in higher education, allocating ₹2,000 crore for 842 professional and medical courses. To ensure effective implementation, the government has issued guidelines and formed a monitoring committee to address student grievances.
During his visit to Garware College, Patil engaged with students to understand their concerns and gather feedback. Highlighting the scheme’s importance, he stated, “Many girls are unable to pursue higher education due to financial constraints. This fee waiver program aims to help them continue their studies. I urge all eligible students to contact their college’s nodal officers by March 31 to complete the required documentation and avail of the scheme.”
Patil further directed colleges to establish joint committees comprising students and administrative staff to address implementation challenges effectively.
The minister’s review drive started at Thadomal Shahani College in Bandra, Mumbai, with Garware College in Pune as his second stop. He confirmed that his visits would continue across 100 colleges statewide to monitor the scheme’s impact.
During his Pune visit, students requested an increase in stipends under the ‘Earn and Learn’ scheme. Responding to their concerns, Patil assured them that efforts would be made to address the stipend issue.
Accompanying Patil during the inspection were Director of Higher Education Shailendra Deolankar and Deputy Director Prakash Bachhav.
