Rising complaints with regards to the delay in the release of scholarship amount by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the research and PhD scholars of Telangana demanded that the union government and the commission release the amount without any delay so that they can continue with their studies without any hurdles.
Scholars from various streams such as JRF (Junior Research Fellowship), RGNF (Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship), ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science Research), CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) and so on are facing problems as they are yet to receive the fellowship amount from the University Grants Commission (UGC). The researchers, PhD scholars and others in Telangana were complaining about the delay in the fellowship amount.
According to the grievances, students from rural areas were having a hard time focussing on their studies as UGC was paying scholarships after a gap of one to four months.
For the last four months, a batch of scholars from Osmania University have been waiting for their scholarship amount. It was claimed that the last time the batch had received the scholarship amount was in October 2021.
The scholars were protesting against UGC and stated that the staff were idle and had no information regarding the scholarship when demanded. However, the regional office of UGC at Osmania University stated that they were just coordinating between the UGC and students. They also mentioned that they were helpless in solving the issue.
Speaking to TNIE, Naresh Bhukiya, a scholar from Osmania University, said, "As per the norms, UGC shall release an amount every month with no delay but we have to wait for months for the scholarship amount. Now, we are facing a lot of difficulties and unable to focus on our studies".
Another scholar, S Rajshekhar, who was selected for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in 2019, shared, "Field visit is a key part of the research, scholars have to move on the field regularly without any excuses, it is difficult to manage things with delay in scholarship. Scholars from rural areas, shifted to the city for research work, are suffering a lot with this delay."
