JNU approaches UGC to clear ₹11 crore in fellowship dues
Jawaharlal Nehru University has said it approached the University Grants Commission (UGC) to get ₹11 crore overdue to the university after students complained that many of them had not received fellowships for months.
Recently, the JNU students’ union had complained that many hostels had issued notices to students to pay their mess bills. If they failed to pay, access to mess facilities was forcefully stopped by hostel authorities.
Officials said that many students had not received the nonNet fellowships for the last few months as the UGC had not released about ₹11 crore to JNU.
Registrar Pramod Kumar said Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar held several rounds of discussions with the top officials of the UGC to address this issue.
“The goal is to resolve the current financial problem of the university at the earliest since the current situation had severely affected a large number of students and adversely hit normal functioning of the university,” he said.
Kumar said the UGC should release the outstanding amount immediately to enable JNU to meet several essential expenditures for the optimum functioning of the university.
The university also permitted students, who hold non-NET fellowship and have financial problems, to continue to have mess facilities.
“In the meantime, the interhostel administration of the university permitted the non-Net fellowship holders, particularly those facing financial problem, to continue to have their mess facilities. Other defaulters have been asked to make payment of mess dues in time,” he said.
Students had said they had not received fellowship for three months.