The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha is threatening legal action against the government over its decision to cut the number of national scholarships.

The Ministry of Education has announced a new bursary system and reduced scholarships.

The threat was contained in a pre-action protocol letter from the Maha Sabha to the government yesterday.

A team of attorneys, including Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj is representing the Maha Sabha.

The Maha Sabha says the new system gives no guidance on how a pupil could qualify.

The team of lawyers has asked for clarification by Friday.

The lawyers say if there is no response from the cabinet by Friday they would be seeking declarations from the court that the policy is unlawful, unfair, and deprived pupils of a legitimate expectation to be assessed for scholarships on academic performance.

The team says the policy should be deemed harsh, oppressive and an unjust dispensation of executive power.