Beneficiary students protest outside Panjab University VC office over grant

Chandigarh, July 9

The beneficiaries of the Post-Metric Scholarship (PMS) started a protest outside the Panjab University VC’s office yesterday, demanding release of their grant by the Punjab Government.

A group of beneficiary students under the aegis of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) started the protest against the university’s direction to charge fee from SC/ST students enrolled under the PMS even as they await the release of grant by the state government.

The protesting students said the university was attempting to keep itself away from the responsibility of coordinating with the state government over release of scholarship amounts. “We cannot pay the fee as the scholarship amount has not been credited in our accounts. The authorities expect us to tackle the issue on our own and refused to talk to the state government,” claimed Amit, president, ASA.

Students whose parents/guardians’ income is below Rs 2.5 lakh per annum or at par are covered under the PMS. “The authorities are not concerned about our plight. They did the same last year. The authorities gave us assurance of resolving the issue, but to no avail. We have requested them to roll back the decision or we will stage a large protest,” added one of the protesting students.

Meanwhile, the university claims to be following the rules and considering the demands of the protesting students. “We are just following rules. The students should protest against the state government for not releasing the scholarships. Despite this, the VC is looking to resolve the issue and the officials concerned are preparing a list of all beneficiaries to find a solution,” said an official requesting anonymity.