Delay in disbursement of fellowship is a violation of rights: Disabled scholar

A consortium of scholars selected for the National Fellowship for Persons with Disabilities (NFPwD) has termed the delay in disbursement of fellowships as a violation of the fundamental right to equality.

In a letter to Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and University Grants Commission Chairperson Mamidala Jagdish Kumar as well as officials from ministries and UGC, the NFPWD Scholars Association said on 5 August that PhD scholars had applied in December 2020. did. And the UGC announced the results in January 2022.

In the letter, the association wrote: “It took over a year for the UGC to process the applications and release the results. After the declaration of result, lots of selected candidates have submitted the required documents to Canara Bank. Still, his fellowship has not been paid. ,

The Hindu had reported on 6 August that national fellowships for PWD as well as SC and OBC PhD scholars under the Ministry of Social Justice have not been disbursed since April, following a change in the rules of flow. Finance Ministry in March

depression and helplessness

The association said the delay had led to issues of “depression and helplessness” for some scholars and that many of them were unable to concentrate on their research. It added that the constraint was not only for the 2020-2021 batch, but also for the earlier batches of scholars.

“Such a long delay also violates the fundamental right to equality (as the delay in NFPWD is much longer compared to other comparable fellowships) and to live a life with dignity,” the letter said.

The association asked the ministers and officials to intervene in the matter and distribute the fellowship immediately.

“UGC took more than a year to process the applications and release the results”letter to social justice minister