Disabled made to fight for fund
In many cases, students were just told by the Union ministry and Canara Bank that there were no funds
Hyderabad: Disabled M.Phil and PhD scholars across the country are unhappy with the government for not ensuring regular disbursal of the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for Students with Disability.
The fellowship is dealt with by the University Grants Commission, the department of disability affairs of the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment and Canara Bank.
From sending bulk emails to officials the entities concerned to making calls, the students have run the gamut of efforts. In many cases, students were just told by the Union ministry and Canara Bank that there were no funds.
Students have formed groups on Google and Facebook to keep in touch with each other on their struggle to get the fellowship.
Hasan, a disabled M.Phil student from the University of Hyderabad said, "I have not got my fellowship for five months and have been calling every department concerned in New Delhi to get the issue resolved. An official at the Social justice ministry laughed and mocked my struggle to get fellowship.”
Bhupathi of the English and Foreign Languages University, said, "Even though I was selected by UGC for the fellowship, the department of disability affairs has not sent my name to the bank. No clarification was given as to why my name was not included."
Around 50 students of the nearly 300 students who were selected from across the country for the fellowship in 2014-15 have not got any money, others are getting it only sporadically.
The world would be observing International Disability Day on Wednesday and the theme for this year is 'Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities'. No one, it appears, is listening.
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