Srinagar, June 24: Social Welfare Minister, Sakina Itoo on Tuesday said the government is actively considering a proposal to remove the educational qualification bar from the State Marriage Assistance Scheme, terming it “unnecessary and unrelated” to the purpose of the scheme.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Itoo said, “Giving marriage assistance… What has qualification to do with it? I am already making a proposal to remove the qualification bar because the girl has to get married, and there should be no issue of having a qualification.”
Minister further said that the scheme, which was initially offering Rs 50,000 to girls from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), was enhanced to Rs 75,000 by the Omar Abdullah-led government in its recent budget.
“Two years before the election, an order was issued making education a criterion for availing the assistance. Even then we had criticised it,” she added.
The State Marriage Assistance Scheme was restructured by Order No. 49-JK(SWD) of 2022, to mandate that applicants must have passed at least 8th class or its equivalent. The revised guidelines came into effect from April 1, 2025.
However, this requirement has left many eligible girls ineligible. Among them are Kulsum Akhtar and her sister Saima Jan from a remote village in Kulgam. The two had applied for assistance in February this year, hoping to receive financial support for their upcoming weddings.
Weeks later, their applications were returned with instructions to upload their 8th class marks cards — a requirement neither of them met.
Now, with the government reconsidering the qualification bar, it will surely bring relief to many marriageable girls who might otherwise be denied assistance
