By TwoCircles.net, Staff Reporter
New Delhi : The University Grants Commission’s (UGC) recent move to scrap non-National Eligibility Test (NET) fellowship to MPhil and PhD students drew a sharp criticism from students studying in various Universities across India.
On Thursday, Hundreds of Students from JNU, DU and Jamia Millia Islamia occupied the premises of UGC demanding immediate revocation of the decision. Besides students are fighting this war on Social Networking websites Facebook and Twitter by tweeting with hash tag #OccupyUGC and #SaveNonNetFellowship. At the filing of this report, students were still there at the UGC building.
The move has come as a major blow to student organizations who were mulling for increase in the scholarship amount.
The students said the withdrawal of non-NET fellowships would severely affect the research work of MPhil and PhD scholars who are not qualified for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). Since the non-NET fellowships are the only major source of financial support which makes higher education accessible for students coming from weaker economical background.
In Hyderabad, Opposing the UGC decision, M.Phil and PhD students of University of Hyderabad held a demonstration on the campus and burnt an effigy of the UGC on Wednesday, reported The New Indian Express.
The non net fellowship started in 2008 to encourage research in the universities has proved to be a life line for researchers who do not have access to other scholarships. It has encouraged students from different backgrounds to continue their research with financial assistance of Rs 5,000 and 8,000 per month respectively for MPhil and PhD students for four years and 18 months respectively.
While briefing on the issue, the president of All India Students Association (AISA), Sucheta De said, : ” The Decision of the Modi Government to withdraw this fellowship is a direct assault on students who want to pursue a career in academic research in the universities of India. The series of moves by government to cut budgetary allocation in education and restructure higher education to make it inaccessible and destroy its quality. This must also be seen in the context of the impending negotiations of the government with WTO to commit Indian higher education as a tradable service in the upcoming Xth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi this December,” Sucheta said in a statement.
“Once the Indian Government confirms its commitment to include Higher Education in the list of tradable service under WTO, it will be necessary for India to cut subsidies provided to Government funded Universities. The WTO regime necessitates level playing field for Indian/Foreign and Public/Private educational institute. The recent decision to do away with research fellowship is nothing but a step to comply with conditions formulated under the behest of the WTO,” she added.
UGC chairman Ved Prakash has revealed that the UGC decided to do away with the fellowships from next academic year. Though the students from current academic year would continue to get the non-NET fellowship, the students who take admission from next academic year will not get it. The UGC took this decision as per the recommendations of a committee that was formed to examine the possibility of hiking the existing amount of fellowship.