Dalit scholars forced to move rights panel for Junior Research Fellowship arrears

KOTTAYAM: Hundreds of research scholars of MG University, who have not been paid the UGC fellowship amount, have reason to hope with one of them  getting the arrears of Rs 2,75,000 with the intervention of  the State Human Rights Commission.

The university sanctioned the Junior Research Fellowship  amount to Mr C.P. Arunkumar, a dalit research scholar of the School of Social Sciences after the dean and  research guide Dr K.T. Rammohan took up the issue with  the SHRC.
The SHRC  demanded a report from the university which quickly granted the ten-month arrears on Wednesday.

Mr  Arunkumar,  who is working on the social history of Khalasi labour,  has not been receiving JRF for the past one year.  “The full amount was granted to the research scholar  the other day.  I had represented his case to the SHRC and the Kerala State SC/ST Commission,”  Dr Rammohan  told Deccan Chronicle.
Mr Arunkumar  told DC that his research had been  seriously affected due to the lack of funds.

Though he had approached the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Commission with the grievances, they have not responded so far. The university authorities had denied him his fellowship saying  that he had not upgraded his fellowship to Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) by undergoing interviews and other procedures.

However, the students’ representatives allege  that the UGC was  not allotting the funds because the university authorities had not properly presented the details of the funds given to the research scholars previously.

There are 286 research scholars in MG University  who are receiving the JRF funds.  The university grants Rs 6,000 as research fellowship while research students having JRF  are eligible to get Rs 27,500 and those having SRF get Rs 30,800. A total of 168 research scholars are getting the university fellowships.