Non-NET fellowship scheme to continue

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on Sunday said the MPhil and PhD students of the central universities will continue to be benefited by the non-NET fellowship scheme, setting aside the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) recent decision to discontinue it.

It, however, said that a decision has been taken to set up a review committee to to go into the issues related to the research fellowships provided by the UGC, covering both NET and non-NET fellowships.

The committee will submit its report by December. “Irrespective of the recommendations of the review committee, all existing and continuing fellowships, NET as well as Non-NET would be continued; there will be no change retrospectively,” the ministry said in a statement.

This comes after students of the Delhi University and the JNU intensified their protest against the UGC decision to discontinue non-NET fellowship scheme, mainly on the ground that there were complaints about misuse and there was no mechanism to ensure that the benefits of the scheme was being availed by the “deserving” students only.

“The government has decided to establish a review committee to go into the issues related to the research fellowships provided by the UGC, covering both NET and Non-NET fellowships.

The review committee will submit its report to the Ministry within December 2015,” the ministry said in a statement.