The inordinate delay in receiving grants/scholarships has affected tribal and Dalit students pursuing various higher education programmes in the State.
A collective led by the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGM) and Adi Shakthi Summer School organised a convention here on Saturday to highlight the alleged injustice meted out to SC/ST students and demanded that the government take immediate steps to clear bottlenecks.
AGM State coordinator M. Geethanandan demanded that the authorities provide grants on a monthly basis instead of the current practice of annual disbursal. There should be periodic increase in allowances and grants in terms of the actual boarding and lodging costs of aspirants. There should also be a separate payment mode for tuition fee, he said.
Representatives of the collective said several tribal and Dalit students in the State had not received grants or scholarships for higher studies for over a year. Lump sum grants, hostel allowances, pocket money, allowances for day scholars, and scholarships for research students are payable directly to students. In contrast, tuition and examination fees are paid directly to the institutions. However, students have not received direct payment for over a year, they said.
The collective urged the government to raise financial support offered to students, including hostel allowance, pocket money, day-scholar allowance, and lumpsum grants. SC/ST undergraduate/postgraduate students enrolled in government/non-government college hostels receive ₹3,500 a month as hostel allowance and ₹200 as pocket money. The request by students to increase the living expenses (for lodging and boarding) to ₹6,000 - ₹6,500 remains pending before the Department of Finance, it said.
