Maharashtra Govt Will Set Common Training System For Competitive Exams

The state government has come up with an idea to set up a standard format for students belonging to marginalised communities and appearing for competitive exams. The Maharashtra government will be setting up a common system to train students belonging to various marginalised communities to appear for different competitive exams.

 

A panel to streamline various training programs run by its autonomous bodies for marginalised groups such as Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Maratha-Kunbis, the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), and religious minorities was formed by the government at the start of 2024.

 

The committee then formed a sub-committee to prepare standard procedures for every aspect of training programs. The program included the evaluation and empanelment of private coaching institutes, the number of beneficiaries, the assessment of applications, and issuing of tenders.

 

The Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), the Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI), the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research & Training Institute (MAHAJYOTI), the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI), and the Academy of Maharashtra Research Upliftment and Training (AMRUT) are the autonomous bodies that have up until now independently carried out the educational and welfare programs for SC, ST, OBC, Marathas, and EWS. The state has been working to establish balance since last year.

 

Chandrakant Patil, the state minister of higher and technical education, confirmed last year that 750 candidates for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and 500 candidates for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) would now be eligible for the pre-exam preparation program as part of this exercise. The program was expanded up until this point to allow a maximum of 250 candidates per category.

 

The authorities had announced that for a period of eight months, it will increase the stipend for MPSC aspirants from INR 6,000 to INR 8,000 and for UPSC aspirants from INR 8,000 to INR 13,000.

 

The government wants to significantly reduce the number of fellowships given to researchers from marginalised communities. The number of fellowships was set at 400–200, going to students from the Scheduled Caste (SC), 100 to those from the Scheduled Tribe (ST), and 50 to each of the Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Maratha communities. This decision was made in June of last year by State Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik. This represents a significant decrease from the almost 3,000 scholarships awarded to these students in the previous round.

 

Certain activists claim that the process of standardising will weaken the independence of these institutions, which were founded to cater to the distinct requirements of diverse communities.