Minority students demand release of scholarships

Students belonging to minority community have not been provided with the scholarships by the Central government although nine months have past since the applications were submitted.

A Minority Office March was conducted by the protestors from AB Shetty Circle to Maulana Azad Bhavan, Pandeshwar.

Speaking during a protest in front of District Minority Office in Pandeshwar, Mangaluru on Monday, Riaz Kadamba, Campus Front of India (CFI) district secretary, said that the Minority Welfare Department has been confusing students by issuing new notifications on its website every now and then. The application process is made very complicated and has caused a headache to students belonging to rural areas.

Shakir, CFI state committee general secretary, said that the three-phase scrutiny has been completed and confirmation has been sent to the parents of the students through SMS. Even after four months of confirmation, scholarship is not yet deposited to the bank accounts of the students.

“In institutions, half the amount of the fee will be paid by students after receiving of scholarships. Some institutions have not issued hall tickets for students as they have failed to pay the fee. The government should not play with the future of the students. The state government too is doing nothing in this regard,” he complained.

The Minority Welfare Minister Tanveer Sait is leading a lavish lifestyle and is unaware of the problems faced by the students. What the minority cells of the political parties are doing, why are they not raising the issue, Shakir wanted to know.

“If the scholarships are not provided before next Saturday, the protests will be intensified and the Minority Welfare Office will be locked up. We are ready to go to jail for this purpose”, he added. CFI district unit president Atavullah was present.

A memorandum was submitted by the protesters to the District Minority Welfare department Deputy Director Usman on the occasion.