Students Seek Redressal from TS BJP Chief for Education Issues
Hyderabad: A group of student leaders met with TS BJP president and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy to ask him to address higher education issues on Wednesday, including reinstatement of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), which was discontinued in 2023.
Another key demand in the memorandum presented to Kishan Reddy was was the increase in slots for the National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC), SC and ST community candidates. Currently, only 1,000 candidates receive the NFOBC, the students asked for 10,000 more.
Concerns were raised regarding the proposal for de-reservation of reserved category positions in higher educational institutions (HEIs). The students urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to revert this proposal.
"The memorandum also included a plea to exempt the MPhil programme in rehabilitation psychology from the UGC guidelines of 2022, similar to the partial relaxation granted to clinical psychology until 2026," said S. Nelli, a student leader. The MPhil degree has been removed in the New Education Policy.
Furthermore, an inquiry was requested into the director of the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) regarding the resignation of numerous officials during his tenure.
Students from Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) highlighted the issue of receiving only nine per cent house rent allowance (HRA) despite being in a Tier 1 city. "We urged the minister to rectify this discrepancy and ensure they receive the entitled 27 per cent HRA," another student told Deccan Chronicle.