HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today strongly backed the need to revise the scholarship amount under the prestigious National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) Scheme. Terming as “farcical”, the meager Rs 500 scholarship amount, Sibal said he would take up the matter of upward revision of the money with the Finance Ministry.

The Minister was speaking on the occasion of the 51st Foundation Day of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), which is ready to implement core science and math curricula in Class XII across all schools from next year. Core syllabi in basic sciences and math were implemented in the CBSE schools in Class XI this year.

Meanwhile, in a welcome development Sibal backed the university status for the NCERT, saying, “It would enable the NCERT to address diverse issues and upcoming challenges in the education sector and also help its teachers draw professor-level salary. I strongly suggest that we should work very hard to ensure that the university status to the NCERT is brought about as quickly as possible.”

Source: The Tribune