The Surat District Education Office (DEO) on Thursday issued notifications to all schools where children of diamond polishers study and shared a School Fees Special Assistance Application form along with a checklist of relevant documents for students and parents who are eligible for a fee relief.
The state government has announced a special assistance package for people from the diamond industry, considering the recession over the last three years. Children of diamond polishers, who have been unemployed after March 2024 and are aged above 21 and have worked for at least three years at a diamond firm, will be eligible for this scheme.
Surat district Education Officer Bhagirathsinh Parmar issued the notification after receiving the format from the state government. According to the format, the benefits of the scheme can be availed only for the 2025-26 session, the maximum amount of relief being Rs 13,500 per student. Diamond polisher parents should fill the School Fees Special Assistance Application form and submit it, along with necessary documents, including Aadhaar cards of both the applicant and the student, a passport-size photo of the parent, to the school between June 9 and July 23.
The applicant should obtain a certificate of unemployment for a period of one year and a certificate of work experience for the previous three years from the District Employment Office, the District Industries Centre, or a request letter or certificate issued by the Surat Diamond Association.
The school authorities would then submit the documents to the District Industries Centre in three phases — on June 30, July 7, and July 24. The school authorities should also attach a forwarding letter, along with a list of students, a cancelled cheque from the school, and fees in accordance with the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC).
DEO Parmar said, “We have issued the notification to all primary, secondary and higher secondary grant-in-aid, self-finance and government schools in the city. Diamond polishers mainly reside in Varachha, Kapodara, Punagam, Katargam, Sarthana, etc. Non-Gujarati polishers who match all the eligibility criteria can also fill such forms. We have strictly instructed all schools to complete the process with the given time frame. We are coordinating with the Surat Diamond Association, the Surat District Employment Office, and the District Industries Centre, and will make sure that diamond polishers should not face any problem in obtaining the necessary documents. If they do, they should contact us or any of these three offices, and their issue will be resolved.”
