The University of Hyderabad Students’ Union (UoHSU) announced that on Thursday, February 27, it will burn the effigy of the Telangana Government in protest against the pending Telangana State e-PASS fellowships for students.
In the announcement poster and press release issued today, February 25, the HCUSU demanded the state government, led by the Indian National Congress (INC), and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to disburse the fellowships immediately.
The Telangana ePASS Scholarship is a programme that helps students from the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Backward Classes (BC). Economically Backward Class (EBS) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) categories in Telangana get financial aid for pre-matric and post-matric education through fee reimbursements.
Holders of the TS ePASS allege that they have not been receiving the money due to them under the scheme for over three years.
“I was an ePASS holder even during my intermediate education, but I was able to manage the expenses as I studied in my native village and lived with my parents. As a result, I was not bothered by the non-disbursal,” says Sai Kumar, a second-year undergraduate student at the Telugu department, UoH, also know as Hyderabad Central University (HCU).
He adds that he could not rely on his parents anymore for fees and expenses after arriving at HCU for higher studies. “ePASS is the only way for me to manage,” he said.
“The university provides an exemption of up to Rs 13,500 to the mess fees. Anything exceeding the exempted amount must be borne by us,” he explains, adding that the fellowship under ePASS would ideally cover that.
However, because the fellowships have not yet been disbursed, students like Sai Kumar are forced to seek help from their parents to pay their fees and dues. If they do not, they will not be allowed to register for the next semester or graduate.
Students say that asking for money from their parents every year is an arduous experience, especially given that they are already under a fellowship scheme.
“Every time I ask my mother for money to pay my fees, she asks me why I do so, and what happened to my ePASS fellowship. How do I tell her that we haven’t been receiving them for over three years?” asks Likhith Kumat Goda, a fourth-year integrated Masters of Arts student at HCU.
He adds that he has been applying for the fellowship every year for the last three years to no avail. “The application portal shows that the funds have been disbursed to the Treasury, but the funds never reach our accounts,” he narrates, adding, “The only thing the government seems to do is take applications from us.”
“I became an ePASS holder to get some relief on my education expenditure. In this situation, being an ePASS holder serves no purpose,” he bemoans.
He adds that many of his peers are having to take tuition classes and turn to part-time jobs to be able to clear their dues.
Both students add that the issue is much larger than the confines of the HCU campus, and affects students in Telangana as a whole.
Speaking on the situation, Nihad Suleiman, General Secretary of the UoHSU said, “Despite sending representations to the Chief Minister’s office, as well as the TS ePASS Department, the issue remains unsolved. BC and EWS students have not received their ePASS fellowships for the last three years, and SC/ST students have not received them for the last two years.”
As a result, the effigy-burning serves as a “wake-up call” for the government and a reminder that the UoHSU did not let go of the issue, he adds.
In their call for students to join their protest, the UoHSU issued the following demands to the Telangana Government:
To disburse the pending ePASS scholarships to all eligible students immediately
To review its budgetary allocations to prioritise education
To ensure timely release of scholarships in the future to avoid similar hardships for students
