BU research scholars to get fellowship amount for four years

Syndicate decides to do away with system of paying hostel fees

Doctoral students of Bangalore University (BU) belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) categories will have to complete their Ph.D. in four years if they wish to do so with the varsity’s fellowship amount. BU’s syndicate has decided to limit payment of the fellowship amount to SC/ST students who have no financial assistance to four years.

Further, the syndicate decided to do away with the system of paying scholarship along with hostel fees. Hereafter, only the scholarship amount will be paid, BU Vice-Chancellor (VC) B. Thimme Gowda said.

This move has been brought in as the number of Ph.D. students has gone up this year. Out of the 600 research scholars, around 200 are from SC, ST categories, Prof. Gowda said. He also said this amount was being given from BU’s funds but with assistance from the State, a revision in amount could be planned.

During the press conference here on Tuesday, the VC also said the affiliation fee for courses had been ‘marginally revised.’

The autonomous status of nine colleges had been renewed. They are: Mount Carmel College, Jyothi Nivas College, NMKRV College, National College Jayanagar and Basavanagudi, College of Fine Arts – Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, and St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science; Commerce; and Evening College, he said.

Other decisions

The price of mid-day meals given to students on BU’s Jnana Bharathi campus may also see a revision as the contract with ISKCON, which supplies the meals, ended in September. “We called for e-tenders and got no response. We will place tenders again and if we don’t get a response, we will continue with ISKCON,” the VC said.

He said the temple trust had expressed its inability to continue at the present price (Rs. 13.5 per meal per head) and asked for it to be revised to Rs. 18.5 per student.

But to avoid placing the entire burden on the students, the varsity will pitch in Rs. 10, Prof. Gowda said. But this will depend on the outcome of negotiations between the organisation and the varsity, which is pitching for the price to be fixed at Rs. 17, so that students will have to pay only Rs 7.

BU has also formed a committee to look into the feasibility of the time fixed for Sakala services, which will forward its recommendations to the government, he added.