National Commission for Scheduled Castes has sought details from the Director, Adi Dravidar Welfare Department, on a complaint that over 200 Dalit students pursuing higher studies through correspondence course in Tamil University in Thanjavur were not given scholarship through the department.
In his letter, dated September 7, Assistant Director of the Commission P. Ramasamy, sought reply on a complaint of B. Pandiaraj of Madurai, who is pursuing Master of Social Work.
In his complaint, Mr. Pandiaraj, who is also a member of the Madurai district Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, said he had submitted to the university the relevant application seeking scholarship. When he made enquiries at the District Adi Dravidar Welfare office in Thanjavur about the scholarship, he was directed to approach the Director of Adi Dravidar Welfare at Chennai.
The officials did not give information. Scholarship for over 200 students had not been disbursed since 2014-15 academic year. He said this was also the case with Madurai Kamaraj University. “Only poor students opt for correspondence course and denying scholarship amounted to discouraging them from pursuing higher students,” he said.
