NGO, in letter to CMO, says such students find it difficult to arrange large sums for admissions; however, the money oftentimes takes months to come in, parents and students told mid-day.
A MahaDBT scheme beneficiary is supposed to pay fees to their colleges, and the amount is later disbursed to their bank account in two instalments. Representation Pic/iStock
Students with disabilities have raised concerns about the efficacy of the MahaDBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) scheme, which allows for direct disbursement of financial aid in the form of scholarships to bank accounts of students with disabilities. However, the money oftentimes takes months to come in, parents and students told mid-day.
A beneficiary is supposed to pay fees to their colleges, and the MahaDBT scheme ensures the amount is disbursed to their bank account in two instalments.
“My son has a locomotive disability and has taken up IT at an engineering college in Mumbai. The fees are over Rs 1 lakh, and it’s difficult to arrange such amounts in one shot,” said Kausar, a resident of Kurla.
Fearing that her son may lose admission, Kausar paid the fees upfront after borrowing money from community trusts. Soon after, she applied for the MahaDBT scheme in August 2024, which was approved immediately at the college level.
“Months passed, and in December, we were asked to revisit the bank account to recheck the Aadhaar seeding process. The money finally reached us by the end of April 2025.”
Kausar’s son enjoys his time at the engineering college, which he finds inclusive and encouraging. “My son is happy at the institute, but he needs to be dropped off and picked up in an auto, owing to his condition. These additional costs and late disbursements add to our troubles,” she said.
Medical students, who typically have to pay higher college fees, bear the brunt of such delays, too. Paying nearly R1.5 lakh as college fees, a second-year student with a disability, who uses prosthetic callipers, said, “I applied for the MahaDBT scholarship in December 2023, furnishing all documents. I only got the first instalment in December 2024 and the second in May 2025,” he said.
The second-year medical student had borrowed funds from his relatives to pay off college bills. “It became difficult to ask for money again. I had to pay off my second-year fees when I didn’t even have the disbursements from the previous year in hand,” he said.
Waiver sought
Taking note of the matter, the Mission Awareness Foundation has written to the secretary of the chief minister’s office. “This system defeats the purpose of the scheme, as many physically challenged students come from economically weaker sections and find it extremely difficult to arrange large sums upfront. In comparison, students belonging to other reserved categories, such as SC, ST, and OBC, are not required to pay fees at the time of admission, which provides them with much-needed financial relief,” wrote Abdur Rehman Khan, the president of the foundation.
The group asked for a waiver of the upfront tuition fee payment for disabled students, allowing direct billing between institutions and the government.
OfficialSpeak
As per an official who works at the persons with disabilities welfare department, post-matric scholarship forms first need to be approved at a college level, then the district level, and finally at the commissioner level, before the funds are directly disbursed to students’ bank accounts.
“As of July, we have received 317 applications for this particular scheme for which funds amounting to Rs 2.48 crore have already been disbursed. There’s never a delay when it comes to fund disbursements from the ministry,” he stated.
2024
Year youth with locomotive disability applied for scheme
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