AICTE warns pvt varsities not to mislead Kashmiris

JAIPUR: A private-run university in Jaipur that evicted more than 250 students from the campus over non-payment of fees, has been forced to reinstate them after the chairman of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) hauled up the institute.

Addressing a programme at the Swami Keshvanand Institute of Technology in Jaipur on Sunday, AICTE chairman Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe, warned private-run universities against luring Kashmiri students to take admissions in the universities on the false assurance that it will help them get scholarship under the Prime Minister’s Special Sponsorship Scheme (PMSSS).

Launched in 2011 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the PMSSS was aimed at drawing youngsters from Kashmir away from militancy in the state and encouraging them to avail educational opportunities in other parts of the country.

Under the scheme the Centre allocates ₹ 74 crore to sponsor education of 5,000 fresh students every year.

Out of the 5,000 scholarships, 4,500 are meant for general degree courses and 250 each for engineering and medical streams.

In a warning issued on Aug10, the AICTE said, “Any candidate, who is taking admission in any institution other than the institution allotted by AICTE through the counselling, is not eligible for the scholarship under the scheme .”