Supreme Court Advocate Ujjawal Gaur has written a letter to the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, raising serious concerns over irregularities in the National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes (NFSC) selection list for the University Grant Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) June 2024 cycle.
Alleging that numerous deserving candidates have been arbitrarily excluded from the final selection, Gaur has urged the government to take immediate corrective action to address what he terms an “egregious violation of justice and fairness.”
The NFSC, a crucial fellowship aimed at supporting Scheduled Caste (SC) PhD scholars, has come under scrutiny after multiple candidates who met the eligibility criteria failed to make it to the final list, despite scoring above the declared category-wise cutoffs.
In his letter, Gaur highlights that this exclusion is not merely an administrative oversight but a direct attack on the constitutional values of equality and opportunity.
“This is not merely an administrative oversight, it is an egregious violation of the principles of justice, fairness, and equality enshrined in our Constitution,” Gaur writes in the letter addressed to the minister.
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“Student left unheard”
According to Gaur, several affected candidates have attempted to seek clarification from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the Ministry of Social Justice. However, they have reportedly been caught in a cycle of bureaucratic neglect, with each institution directing them to another without resolving their grievances.
“They call the University Grants Commission, only to be redirected to the National Testing Agency, which, in turn, directs them back to the UGC, each authority absolving itself of responsibility while the students are left stranded, unheard, and unseen,” Gaur states in his letter.
Gaur emphasises that the NFSC fellowship is not just financial assistance but also a critical support system that enables marginalized students to pursue higher education despite socio-economic hardships.
In his letter, Gaur further warns that if the issue remains unresolved, students may be left with no option but to seek legal recourse.
Demands
As a resolution, Gaur has called for the following immediate actions:
An independent review of the NFSC selection process to identify discrepancies.
A revised and transparent selection list that ensures deserving candidates receive their due fellowship.
Clear accountability from concerned authorities to prevent such issues in future selections.
“I request that immediate instructions be issued to the concerned authorities to rectify these discrepancies, ensure transparency, and release a revised selection list without further delay. The trust of an entire generation of scholars rests in your hands,” Gaur writes in his concluding appeal to the minister.
