Over 250 students from Jammu and Kashmir have dialled the special helpline number of the Home Ministry in the past 10 days to register their grievances about the non-disbursement of scholarships promised to them under the Prime Minister Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme was announced in 2011 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, according to a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), took personal interest in solving the problems of at least 30 students from J&K who had been facing problems ever since the scheme was launched.
Poonch resident Imtiaz Hussain, who is studying at Suresh Gyan Vihar University in Jaipur said, “We have been struggling to get the money for the past three years. The college has confiscated our original documents and has refused to give us degrees as the scholarship money has not reached us. After we met the Home Minister, we are sure that the issue will be resolved.”
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There are about 9,000 students from J&K regularly availing the benefits of the Prime Minister Scholarship Scheme. Some other students had concerns regarding non-release of their scholarships because of incomplete forms and admissions in the institutes which are not recognised, the MHA statement said.
During his visit to Srinagar on August 25, Mr. Singh had announced that the home ministry would nominate a nodal officer to address the grievances of people of Jammu & Kashmir.
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“During the last 10 days, over 200 grievances relating mainly to non-disbursement of scholarship and other issues have been received through telephone in MHA, in addition to, about 50 grievances through email. The nodal officer has personally acknowledged the receipt of grievances received on email. These grievances have been forwarded to Ministry of Human Resource Development and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for action and resolving the issues at the earliest,” the statement said.
There are about 10-12 universities/colleges including Mewar University and Gyan Vihar University, Rajasthan where some of the students are having concerns.
The government will be convening the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) meeting shortly to resolve the remaining issues.