Hindustan Times: Mumbai: Monday, 22 December 2025.
Only 723,133 out of a total 969,029 students who applied for scholarships through the state’s Maha DBT portal during this period have received financial assistance while 142,383 applications are pending
The response received on
December 18 by Amar Ekad, president, Care of Public Safety Association, raises
serious concerns about administrative efficiency (or the lack of it) and its
impact on students from economically weaker sections.
The Maharashtra government runs multiple scholarship schemes to support students pursuing higher education however a staggering 1.42 lakh students have been deprived of scholarship benefits over the last five academic years, an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on December 5 has revealed. The response received on December 18 by Amar Ekad, president, Care of Public Safety Association, raises serious concerns about administrative efficiency (or the lack of it) and its impact on students from economically weaker sections.
As per data obtained through the RTI query, only 723,133 out of a total 969,029 students who applied for scholarships through the state’s MahaDBT portal during this period have received financial assistance while 142,383 applications are pending, leaving thousands of students struggling to manage their educational expenses.
The RTI data reveals that 75,203 applications are pending at the college level, primarily due to delays in document verification and institutional recommendations; whereas 67,180 applications are awaiting final approval from the higher education department. Ironically, this backlog persists despite the scholarship process being fully online. Applications are reportedly getting stuck at various stages such as document scrutiny, college verification, and departmental approvals. In many cases, scholarship applications have been pending beyond one academic year, severely disrupting the students’ academic planning and financial stability.
Ekad said, “For many students, scholarships are not merely a financial aid but a necessity to pay tuition fees, hostel charges, and daily living expenses. The prolonged delays have forced students to either borrow money, discontinue their education temporarily, or face immense financial stress.” Calling the situation a serious administrative failure, he said, “The existence of an advanced digital platform like MahaDBT makes such large-scale pendency unacceptable.” Ekad demanded immediate disciplinary action against colleges that are deliberately delaying or blocking scholarship applications, and urged the state government to streamline the verification and approval process to ensure timely disbursement of funds.
An officer from DHE said, “In most cases, the delay is caused by the college administration. We have sent them multiple reminders and just recently, we organised a two-week drive to help colleges verify pending cases so that students can access the government schemes they are eligible for.”
A student shared her experience saying, “I am a B Pharmacy second-year student. I haven’t even received the first-year scholarship instalment yet, so I am facing difficulties paying my tuition fees. It makes me worry every day about how I will manage all my expenses without the scholarship. I am still waiting for the first-year scholarship and have approached the college multiple times, but I haven’t received satisfactory answers from them. I am not the only one; many of my friends are in an even worse situation, still waiting for their scholarships.”
The 14 major scholarship schemes implemented by the Directorate of Higher Education through the MahaDBT portal include: Rajashri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Tuition Fee Scholarship, Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Hostel Maintenance Allowance, Eklavya Scholarship, State Government Minority Scholarship, and Open Merit Scholarship among others. These schemes are crucial for students who depend entirely on scholarships to continue their education.
Only 723,133 out of a total 969,029 students who applied for scholarships through the state’s Maha DBT portal during this period have received financial assistance while 142,383 applications are pending
The Maharashtra government runs multiple scholarship schemes to support students pursuing higher education however a staggering 1.42 lakh students have been deprived of scholarship benefits over the last five academic years, an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on December 5 has revealed. The response received on December 18 by Amar Ekad, president, Care of Public Safety Association, raises serious concerns about administrative efficiency (or the lack of it) and its impact on students from economically weaker sections.
As per data obtained through the RTI query, only 723,133 out of a total 969,029 students who applied for scholarships through the state’s MahaDBT portal during this period have received financial assistance while 142,383 applications are pending, leaving thousands of students struggling to manage their educational expenses.
The RTI data reveals that 75,203 applications are pending at the college level, primarily due to delays in document verification and institutional recommendations; whereas 67,180 applications are awaiting final approval from the higher education department. Ironically, this backlog persists despite the scholarship process being fully online. Applications are reportedly getting stuck at various stages such as document scrutiny, college verification, and departmental approvals. In many cases, scholarship applications have been pending beyond one academic year, severely disrupting the students’ academic planning and financial stability.
Ekad said, “For many students, scholarships are not merely a financial aid but a necessity to pay tuition fees, hostel charges, and daily living expenses. The prolonged delays have forced students to either borrow money, discontinue their education temporarily, or face immense financial stress.” Calling the situation a serious administrative failure, he said, “The existence of an advanced digital platform like MahaDBT makes such large-scale pendency unacceptable.” Ekad demanded immediate disciplinary action against colleges that are deliberately delaying or blocking scholarship applications, and urged the state government to streamline the verification and approval process to ensure timely disbursement of funds.
An officer from DHE said, “In most cases, the delay is caused by the college administration. We have sent them multiple reminders and just recently, we organised a two-week drive to help colleges verify pending cases so that students can access the government schemes they are eligible for.”
A student shared her experience saying, “I am a B Pharmacy second-year student. I haven’t even received the first-year scholarship instalment yet, so I am facing difficulties paying my tuition fees. It makes me worry every day about how I will manage all my expenses without the scholarship. I am still waiting for the first-year scholarship and have approached the college multiple times, but I haven’t received satisfactory answers from them. I am not the only one; many of my friends are in an even worse situation, still waiting for their scholarships.”
The 14 major scholarship schemes implemented by the Directorate of Higher Education through the MahaDBT portal include: Rajashri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Tuition Fee Scholarship, Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Hostel Maintenance Allowance, Eklavya Scholarship, State Government Minority Scholarship, and Open Merit Scholarship among others. These schemes are crucial for students who depend entirely on scholarships to continue their education.
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