MOHALI,19^th April 2026-In a major relief for students, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that more than 3 lakh Scheduled Caste (SC) students in Punjab will no longer face financial hurdles in pursuing higher education.

Addressing the gathering, Cheema stated that the previous government had failed to disburse Post Matric Scholarship funds from 2017 to 2020, leaving thousands of students unable to complete their education and pushing several colleges into financial distress. He highlighted that the present government, led by Bhagwant Mann, has sanctioned approximately Rs 432 crore in pending liabilities—around 40% of the total amount—along with fulfilling current financial commitments. He also appreciated the efforts of Dr. Anshu Kataria for bringing technical higher education institutions of Punjab onto the PUCA platform.

This was said by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during an event organised by PUCA. Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA), and Chairman, Aryans Group of Colleges, Rajpura (near Chandigarh) presided over.

The theme of the event was “From Campus to Corporate: Creating Global Financial Leaders,” organized at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Chandigarh. Dr. Kamal Chabra and Dr. Manpreet Singh Manna, along with S. Nirmaljit Singh Kalsi (IAS Retd.) were special guest.

Prominent educationists including S. Manjit Singh, Dr. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, Dr. Zora Singh, Adv. Amit Sharma, Dr. Mohit Mahajan, S. Gurpreet Singh, S. Nirmal Singh Rayat, Harpreet Singh Channi and Adv. Vikram Passi were present.

On the occasion, PUCA honoured renowned commerce educators from the region, including Dr. R.K. Gupta, Dr. A.K. Vashisht, Dr. Ajay Sharma, Dr. Parvinder Singh, Prof. Mahavir Singh, Dr. Parveen Kataria, Ms. Aman Sandhu, Dr. Ritika Sharma, Mr. Akash Gautam, Dr. Kapil Dev, Dr. Gunjan, Dr. Monita Mago, Dr. Yashpal, Dr. Amit Mohindroo, Dr. Sunita Gupta, Dr. Kamalpreet Kaur, Dr. Raman Ghuman, Dr. Navjot Kaur, Mr. G.D. Singh, Dr. Arun Sharma, Dr. Ragini Kalotra, Dr. Shweta Sen Thalwal and Dr. Shivinder Phoolka, among others.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Anshu Kataria expressed gratitude to the Finance Minister and emphasized that Punjab is not only leading in school education but is also progressing towards becoming a top destination for technical education in India. He highlighted PUCA’s outreach initiatives across states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir, as well as countries including Nepal and regions in Africa, aimed at promoting Punjab as an education hub.

Kataria further informed that PUCA is working towards bringing around 8,000 technical institutions onto a single platform to benefit lakhs of students aspiring for higher education.

During the vote of thanks, S. Manjit Singh lauded Dr. Kataria’s leadership. He credited him with bringing around 150–200 colleges and universities in Punjab onto a single platform, noting that no Chancellor or Chairman misses an invitation from him. He added that Punjab has emerged as a strong force in the field of education across the nation under his leadership.