Scholarships: J&K Students Groping in the Dark
SRINAGAR; They left the Valley with hope for a brighter future after the announcement of the Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme in 2012 but hundreds of Kashmiri students are groping in the dark as funds are yet to reach them.
22-year-old Feroz Ahmed, a Bachelors in Pharmacy student at a Greater Noida college, is too embarrassed to return home after his college authorities asked him to leave the course over non-payment of fees for which he was granted scholarship.
“Out of a total of 12 students who were admitted to the college, only two have got the scholarship money, that too only an annual Rs 30,000,” said Ahmed, who hails from Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. He had taken admission at Vishveshvarya College in 2012 under the AICTE scheme. The college fees for his course amounts to over Rs 1.50 lakh annually.
Ahmed has been running from pillar to post with the letter of termination of his course from the college as he seeks the help of local leaders to the state minister of education to get his scholarship money.
“Along with other students, I have taken a pit stop in Jammu for the past 25 days, trying to meet leaders and the minister. We have been assured help, but no one has given any confirmation so far. We cannot even go back home, there is too much pressure on us,” he said.“We cannot pay the fees, we are clueless as to what to do... our career and life is at stake,” he said.
Ahmed is not alone. The same predicament is being faced by Hilal Ahmed Mir (21), who hails from Baramulla. He was inducted into a Bachelor of Dental Surgery course at the Meerut-based Kalka Dental College under the scholarship scheme in 2012.“The college has not received the scholarship money from the concerned department. Now, they are not letting me complete the course or even sit for the examination,” Mir claimed.He also alleged that the college had made students like him sign affidavits saying that they would be allowed to sit for the examination only after they paid the fees of an yearly Rs 4 lakh.
22-year-old Feroz Ahmed, a Bachelors in Pharmacy student at a Greater Noida college, is too embarrassed to return home after his college authorities asked him to leave the course over non-payment of fees for which he was granted scholarship.
“Out of a total of 12 students who were admitted to the college, only two have got the scholarship money, that too only an annual Rs 30,000,” said Ahmed, who hails from Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. He had taken admission at Vishveshvarya College in 2012 under the AICTE scheme. The college fees for his course amounts to over Rs 1.50 lakh annually.
Ahmed has been running from pillar to post with the letter of termination of his course from the college as he seeks the help of local leaders to the state minister of education to get his scholarship money.
“Along with other students, I have taken a pit stop in Jammu for the past 25 days, trying to meet leaders and the minister. We have been assured help, but no one has given any confirmation so far. We cannot even go back home, there is too much pressure on us,” he said.“We cannot pay the fees, we are clueless as to what to do... our career and life is at stake,” he said.
Ahmed is not alone. The same predicament is being faced by Hilal Ahmed Mir (21), who hails from Baramulla. He was inducted into a Bachelor of Dental Surgery course at the Meerut-based Kalka Dental College under the scholarship scheme in 2012.“The college has not received the scholarship money from the concerned department. Now, they are not letting me complete the course or even sit for the examination,” Mir claimed.He also alleged that the college had made students like him sign affidavits saying that they would be allowed to sit for the examination only after they paid the fees of an yearly Rs 4 lakh.
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