JOIN USJ&K students ‘denied’ part of scholarship under PMSSS
Odd-semester students of Jammu and Kashmir, who were selected for the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) for pursuing various undergraduate courses in different streams across the country, are yet to receive the scholarship amount.
The students said they have submitted their results and application through their college offices in August-September for the continuation of the scholarship, “but the same has not been processed yet.”
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the classes across the country started via online mode from July-August. “While we have submitted our results and application through college offices in August-September for the continuation of the scholarship, the student scholarship has not been processed,” a group of PMSSS students told DH.
They said the semester exams are mostly scheduled around December-January for different colleges and courses “but still the scholarship is pending.”
However, an official at All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said the students won’t receive their maintenance charges and scholarship because the colleges are shut. “Once colleges open, then a document has to be sent to them that the student has started college physically, and only then scholarship shall be released,” he said, adding that they have already processed the college fees.
The official said there are directions from the Union Human Resource Development Ministry which handles scholarships that since the students are not in college physically they can’t be paid maintenance charges.
J&K PMSSS is a scholarship scheme for students having domicile of Jammu and Kashmir with family income less than Rs 8 lakh per annum. The scholarship covers course fees and maintenance fees and the students are provided different amounts of scholarships to help them financially to pursue higher education.
While the course fee is paid directly to the institute which includes tuition fees, university fee, exam fee, library fee, internet fee, the maintenance charges are directly credited to the bank accounts of the students.