Centre yet to release scholarship money, SC students suffer

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 26

Students of the Guru Nanak National College for Women, Nakodar, held a protest in front of the office of the Principal today as SC students have been asked to pay their fees to get their roll numbers for examinations issued.

SC students are entitled to scholarship under the Centre’s SC Post Matric Scholarship Scheme.

The Congress leadership, which had held several protests in the last decade over the issue, now seems to be on the back foot. Even as students continue to suffer, Dalit leaders of the party from the most-affected Doaba region are silent over the issue.

Nishu Thapar, a BA final-year student, said, “While some girls arranged Rs7,000 (which would be later refunded by the government), nearly 100 students who could not pay were denied roll numbers. Under such circumstances, we will be unable to appear in the examinations scheduled for May.”

Similar protests are also being held in Phagwara.

AAP leader Jarnail Nangal, who is leading SC students, alleged, “There are 12 colleges in the city who have colluded over the issue. We have given the colleges a deadline of May 1 to issue roll numbers to all SC students.”

Radhika Rattan, Principal of GRD College, Phagwara, said, “We do not want to spoil the career of students but we are in a fix as the government owes Rs50 lakh to our college. The university authorities want full payment of fees before roll numbers are issued.”

Jalandhar MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh of Congress said, “I am pressing the Union Minister of Social Justice to get the funds released at the earliest.”

R Venkatratnam, Principal Secretary, Welfare of SCs and BCs, said, “The Centre is yet to release Rs1,123 crore pending for the last two-three sessions. A grant of Rs310 crore, which included the state’s committed liability of Rs60 crore, was paid to the colleges during the last fiscal. We are now pursuing the matter for an early release of the remaining payment.”