Poonam Masih, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: Anupama, a research scholar from the Hindi Department at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal’s Shantiniketan, has not received her fellowship for the past nine months. She enrolled in the Ph.D. program in 2022, relying upon the financial support from the government.
“The last time I received my fellowship was on May 21, 2024. Every month, I fill the fellowship form, but I have not received a single penny for the last nine months,” she said.
Social Justice Minister Virender Kumar too admitted in the Lok Sabha during the previous session that research fellows from Other Backward Class (OBC) communities have not received their fellowship payments under the National Scholarship for OBC since June 2024.
The non-payment of fellowships for months has left scholars like her facing both financial and mental distress. As many as 47 central and state university fellows are experiencing hardships due to this delay. Not receiving their fellowship has disrupted their lives, making their academic and personal journeys difficult.
Anupama, the first girl from her family to reach this level of education, shared the difficulties she has faced with while pursuing higher education. “I got admitted to the Ph.D. programme after marriage. Pursuing higher education post-marriage is already a huge challenge. I wholly depend on the fellowship,” she said.
While she is able to borrow money from her family, the financial support is limited. Most of it goes toward her rent and food. “I am unable to focus on my studies due to financial stress. This directly impacts my research,” she added.
She further said the delay is keeping her away from attending important seminars. “A few months ago, there was a seminar in Koraput, Odisha, that was crucial to my research, but I could not attend because I did not have the money. Even attending a one-day seminar in Kolkata costs me a thousand rupees, which I cannot afford.”
The Strain of Borrowing Money
Her fellow research scholar, Ravikant Kumar, who began his studies in 2023, too shared his sufferings. “After a certain age, it feels embarrassing to ask for money from home. Everyone assumes I receive a good fellowship, but the reality is far from it,” he said.
He said has not received his fellowship for several months and is surviving by taking loans, a situation he cannot continue indefinitely. The financial strain has affected his ability to fill up important forms, such as the Rajasthan PCS exam form.
“Last month, I could not apply for the state PCS due to lack of money. My friends, who also depend on their fellowships, are in the same boat,” he said.
Financial Hardship
Nayan Dhawal, a research scholar from Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), explained that the OBC fellowship was initiated in 2015 to promote OBC researchers in the field of education and research.
“The fellowship aimed to select 1,000 researchers annually. Initially, the slots were not filled as only 300-400 researchers applied each year due to lack of awareness. Later, as awareness campaigns grew, more applicants came forward, and the slots began to fill up.”
Minister Kumar too had acknowledged the fact in Parliament that the number of beneficiaries has increased from 1,388 to 2,271. According to ministry records, the scheme had over 2,000 beneficiaries in the 2023-24 period.
Rashmi’s Struggles at JNU
Rahmi, a scholar in the Computer Science Department at JNU, hailing from Bihar’s Munger district, complained she has not received her fellowship for the last six months. After the issue was raised Parliament, she received only one month’s worth of fellowship.
“I am the first girl from my district to reach JNU, and people think I have a comfortable life here. However, the reality is different. I have been borrowing money every month, and now I feel ashamed to ask for more. The situation is worse because I also have to take care of my mother’s medical expenses after my father’s death,” she said.
She emphasised that the fellowship scheme has strict rules prohibiting scholars from taking outside jobs. “If we work anywhere, our fellowship will be stopped. This puts us in a difficult position because we do not receive our fellowships on time and cannot supplement our income.”
Fellowship System and Its Challenges
According to Nayan, several RTI requests have been filed, but the response remains the same: “The fellowship will be disbursed when the ministry has the funds.” He added that the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NFOBC), the authority responsible for distributing the fellowships, lacks sufficient funds to meet its obligations.
In one of the correspondences, it was communicated that the pending fellowships would be disbursed in February. However, the fellowship for only one or two months was provided. Such a situation raises the question: how can those who have not received their fellowship for nine months survive on just one month’s payment?
“We are trying to communicate our message to the government so that OBC researchers do not abandon their research due to financial constraints,” Nayan added. “The issue was raised in Parliament, but after the discussion, only one month’s fellowship was provided.”
Govt’s Response and Future Outlook
In response to inquiries in Parliament by Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan, Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar stated that the delay in fellowship disbursement was due to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) decision in October 2023 to increase fellowship amounts for Junior and Senior Research Fellows under the scheme. He clarified that the ministry did not have the budget to accommodate the increased fellowship amounts.
He also mentioned that the revised budget for 2024-25 did not include additional funds for the scheme, but the allocation for the upcoming fiscal year had been increased significantly, more than tripling the available funds for the fellowship.
The Objective of the Scheme
The fellowship scheme aims to empower OBC scholars to pursue research. It provides 1,000 Junior Research Fellowships annually for advanced studies leading to M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees. These fellowships are awarded to students who have qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) for Humanities/Social Science or the UGC-CSIR NET-JRF for the scientific community.
Despite the challenges, scholars like Anupama, Ravikant, Rashmi and others continue to push forward with their research, hoping that the system will eventually be streamlined and that future fellows will not face the same financial hardships.