Pune: Sarathi trainees facing financial crisis

The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has proposed the Maharashtra Gazetted Civil Services Joint Prelims Examination that was scheduled on April 28. The revised schedule is yet to be announced. The new exam date has badly affected the students who are getting along with stipends through Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training, and Human Development Institute (Sarathi). The students face the question of how they will live in Pune till the exams without a stipend. Sarathi trains aspirants preparing for the MPSC exams.

They are given eight months of training and a stipend of Rs 8,000 per month. Students selected through Mahajyoti and Barti institutes are given 11 months of training and a stipend of Rs 10,000 per month. Many students question the logic of the difference in training duration and stipend when all the students are preparing for the same exam.

In January this year, the state government decided that all educational facilities and concessions available to students of other backward classes should be applied to students of the Maratha community. The aspirants have to bear the cost of living in Pune till the exam.