Pre-Matric Scholarship to Children of Those Parents Engaged in Unclean Occupations, Punjab

The Pre-Matric Scholarship to Children of Those Parents Engaged in Unclean Occupations is one of the oldest and narrowest education schemes running in Punjab, and one of the very few that carries no income test at all. It is a centrally sponsored scheme introduced by the Government of India in 1988-89 and listed by Punjab's Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, the department shown on punjab.gov.in as the Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes: among its schemes for Scheduled Castes. Its object, in the department's own words, is to provide financial assistance to children whose parents or guardians fall into specified occupational categories, so that they can pursue pre-matric education. Families in Punjab often know it simply as the safai karamchari children's scholarship, although it is not limited to sanitation employees.

Which parents' occupations bring a child into the scheme?

The scheme names three categories, and eligibility depends on the parent's occupation rather than on caste, religion or income. According to the department's write-up, the scholarship is admissible to the children and wards of Indian nationals who, irrespective of their religion, are:

• Manual scavengers, persons either presently engaged in manual scavenging, or who were so engaged up to or after 1 January 1997, or the date on which the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 came into force in their state or union territory, whichever is earlier
• Tanners
• Flayers

The write-up records two clarifications. "Manual scavenging" carries the meaning given in section 2(j) of the 1993 Act, and "presently engaged in manual scavenging" includes those cleaning human excreta on a regular basis, whether from dry latrines or from drains, sewers, septic tanks or manholes. The second limb matters in practice, because it brings in sewer and septic-tank cleaning work that families would not describe as scavenging at all.

What does the scholarship pay?

The Punjab department's write-up sets out the coverage and rates as follows. Students are covered as day scholars, and the scholarship rate is Rs 110 per month for 10 months in a year. In addition, Rs 750 per annum is provided to each day scholar as an ad hoc grant. The write-up is explicit that no income ceiling has been prescribed for the scholarship under this scheme, and that 100% of the expenditure over and above the state's committed liability of Rs 64.56 lakh is borne by the central government. The scheme has been covered under the Dedicated Social Security Fund since 2005-06.

Additional provisions apply for students with disabilities among the target group, and the write-up notes that they extend to leprosy-cured students as well:

• Reader allowance of Rs 100 a month for blind students in classes IX and X
• Transport allowance of Rs 50 a month for disabled students not residing in a hostel located within the premises of the educational institution
• Special pay of Rs 100 a month to a hostel employee willing to help a severely orthopaedically handicapped student residing in a hostel run by the institution or by the state government
• Escort allowance of Rs 50 a month for severely handicapped day scholars with lower extremity disability
• Extra coaching allowance of Rs 100 a month for mentally ill and intellectually disabled students in classes IX and X

Who is eligible, and who is not?

Eligible: any child or ward of an Indian national in one of the three occupational categories above, studying as a day scholar at the pre-matric stage in Punjab, with no income test and no caste or religion test. An adopted child is eligible on a delayed basis, the write-up says children born to parents who are not engaged in such occupations but who have been adopted by such a person become eligible only after a lapse of three years from the date of adoption, provided they have been living with the adoptive parents since that date, and provided the parents furnish certificates such as proof of occupation and date of adoption as required by the state government.

Certification is a live condition, not a one-time formality. For children of manual scavengers, a certificate is taken once, at the time of their first application or renewal after the 2011 revision came into force, to the effect that a parent belongs to the relevant category. For children of tanners and flayers, a certificate must be furnished every year, to the effect that at least one parent is currently engaged in tanning or flaying.

Who cannot apply: children whose parents have never been engaged in manual scavenging, tanning or flaying cannot apply, however poor the family. This scheme is defined entirely by occupation, and low income alone does not qualify anyone. Students who have crossed the pre-matric stage are not eligible here and must apply under the Post Matric Scholarship to Scheduled Caste Students instead. An adopted child inside the three-year waiting period is not eligible. A child of a tanner or flayer whose parent has stopped that work is not eligible for a further year, because the annual certificate can no longer be given. Where the required occupation certificate cannot be obtained from the competent authority, the application cannot proceed.

How to apply for the unclean occupations pre-matric scholarship

1. Obtain the occupation certificate first. This is the document the whole application turns on. Approach the local body, municipal corporation, panchayat or the authority notified by the district administration for a certificate that the parent is or was engaged in manual scavenging, or is currently engaged in tanning or flaying. Remember the difference in frequency: once for manual scavenging, every year for tanning and flaying.
2. Get the school's enrolment proof. Ask the school for a bonafide certificate showing the class and current session, and keep the previous class result. Students are covered as day scholars, so the school record must reflect that.
3. File the online application for the session. Punjab's SC and BC scholarship applications are filed on the online scholarship portal notified by the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities; the department's scholarship-sites page links to the state portal for SC and BC/OBC students and to scholarships.gov.in for minority community scholarships. Confirm the live portal address with the school office before filing, because the state portal address has changed between sessions.
4. Have the school verify and forward it. The head of the institution verifies enrolment and forwards the application with the occupation certificate attached. An application that is filled but never forwarded lapses at the end of the session.
5. Provide an Aadhaar-seeded bank account. Payment is made by direct benefit transfer, so the account must be in order before sanction, not after.
6. Renew each session. The scholarship runs through the pre-matric stage, but a fresh application is needed each academic year, with a fresh occupation certificate where the parent is a tanner or flayer.

How do I check the status, and what goes wrong?

Track the application through the school office and through the portal reference number generated at submission. Failures cluster around a small number of causes:

• Occupation certificate missing, vague or expired. Certificates that merely describe the parent as a sanitation worker without covering the statutory categories are often returned.
• Annual certificate not renewed for children of tanners and flayers.
• Adoption waiting period not complete, the three-year rule is applied strictly.
• School did not forward the application, which is the most common silent failure.
• Bank account not seeded with Aadhaar, so the sanction is issued but the transfer fails.
• Wrong scheme chosen: students in classes IX and X from Scheduled Caste families whose parents are not in these occupations should be applying under the separate Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students, which has a Rs 2.00 lakh income ceiling.

Where a claim is refused, ask for the reason in writing at the school, then take it to the District Welfare Officer of your district; contacts are listed on the department website. The Directorate of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities in Mohali can be reached on 0172-2273272 and the department's head office is at SCF No. 7, Phase 1, Old DC Office building, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) 160055.

What else can these families claim in Punjab?

Punjab's welfare department runs several linked schemes that reach the same households. Free text books are supplied to Scheduled Caste students in classes 1 to 10. Creches are provided for the children of working mothers from among sweepers and scavengers. An attendance scholarship supports Scheduled Caste primary girl students, and encouragement awards go to SC girl students pursuing 10+2 education. After class 10, the Post Matric Scholarship to Scheduled Caste Students provides fee reimbursement and a maintenance allowance for the complete duration of the course. The state also has a Punjab State Safai Karamchari Commission and a Punjab State Safai Karmchari Bhalai Board listed by the same department, which are the right places to take questions about occupation certification and about rehabilitation entitlements for manual scavengers.

Note on rates: the amounts above are those published in the Punjab department's own write-up of this centrally sponsored scheme, which reflects the 2011 revision. Central pre-matric scholarship norms have been restructured since, so confirm the current-year rate and the applicable classes with the school or the District Welfare Officer before relying on a figure.