Research scholars of CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru, have demanded a hike in fellowship to meet rising costs.
The students staged a silent demonstration in front of the CFTRI campus on KRS Road to draw the attention of the authorities, in response to the nationwide campaign launched by the research scholars from all institutes of national repute demanding fellowship hikes.
Research associates, Ph.D scholars, research interns, project assistants and researchers took part in the march from the CFTRI main gate to the Deputy Commissioner’s office. A memorandum was submitted to the office of the DC, Mysuru, for forwarding the same to the government of India and its agencies, for immediate action on their demand.
Initially, research scholars from various national institutes started off a signature campaign to bring the issue on fellowship to the notice of authorities and funding agencies. Research scholars from CFTRI had also taken part in the signature campaign.
The protesters said they had no other option but to stage the silent protest as the appeal through formal channels did not receive any attention from authorities. CFTRI scholars have sought an 80% hike in fellowship from the existing amount with effect from April 2018 to meet the increasing cost of living.
The last revision of fellowship was made in 2014 by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. Accordingly, the fellowship should have been increased in April 2018 (increasing once in four years) but there has been no official communication yet on the issue, the protesting scholars said via a press release here.
Since 2014, a junior research fellow is being paid ₹25,000 a month while a senior scholar is paid ₹28,000 a month at the CFTRI. Students need to pay tuition fees in some institutions at the time of admission and at the start of every year, they claimed.
Tuition fees, hostel and amenities charges, mess charges, and other miscellaneous expenses had been on the rise year after year but the fellowship remained the same, they said, and demanded that the stipend be disbursed in time.
