Under this scheme a candidate is eligible for over Rs 16,000 financial assistance per month. (Representative image)
NEW DELHI: Over 2,500 students are still waiting for financial assistance promised under the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowships (RGNF) scheme for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, formulated and funded by ministry of social justice and empowerment and ministry of tribal affairs. The batch of 2013-14 are yet to get any money so far, they are alleging that despite repeated attempts to contact the University Grants Commission, which disburses the money, no one in the commission is ready to meet them. The social justice ministry officials however said that the fund has not being released as the UGC has not submitted the utilization certificate of the previous batch.
RGNF is open to candidates who belong to SC and ST and wish to pursue higher studies such as regular and full time MPhil and PhD degrees in sciences, humanities, social sciences and engineering and technology. There are 2,000 slots for SC and 667 slots for ST candidates every year for all the subjects. Under this scheme a candidate is eligible for over Rs 16,000 financial assistance per month.
"We have not got anything so far. And they have called for a fresh batch. We approached the UGC which is supposed to disburse the money, but we are being snubbed by officials there saying that they don't talk to students. The entire batch is waiting for the financial assistance till date," said Senthalir, who is pursuing her PhD in political science from Madras University.
Social justice ministry officials, however, said that UGC has not given utilization certificate of earlier disbursal for RGNF. Officials said UGC still has some funds left. On its part, UGC says since RGNF is a government scholarship, ministry should not break the continuity. As for not furnishing utilization certificate, commission sources say, process is being streamlined.
Posted by Besteducationhub.com
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