PhD students happy with hike in scholarships

All major educational institutions have released notifications, announcing hikes in scholarships to PhD students. This comes after protests by students demanding better scholarships.

Fierce protests by students at IISc and universities and academic institutions for hike in scholarships had forced the government to take notice.

IISc student and secretary of the students council, Pankaj Jain, told Deccan Herald: “The notifications show the extent of the hike in scholarships that will be awarded to different categories of students. Most scholarships show a 55 per cent hike which is what we had demanded. One category shows the hike is around 40 per cent - for MTech and MPhil students who do PhD later.” Students seem happy, he added.

National institutions such as the Department of Atomic Energy, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research have announced a 40-55 per cent hike in scholarships.

Junior research fellows would get Rs 25,000 a month and senior research fellows Rs 28,000. But Jain warns of a serious issue plaguing universities, particularly state-run ones. “We hear scholarships have been given annually, or only once in two, three, or even four years. I wonder how students are managing.”