HRD to soon review non- NET fellowship
New Delhi, Oct. 23: Caught in between the aggrieved students and UGC over discontinuation of the nonNET fellowship, the HRD ministry on Friday said the decision will be reviewed by an expert panel even as protests by students from universities across Delhi entered the fourth day.
The HRD ministry officials said that they are planning to review the programme altogether and strengthen the existing National Eligibility Test and Junior Research Fellowship scheme or create another method of an all- India examination for non- NET qualified candidates. “The aim is to focus on merit and equity in disbursal of the fellowships and not to discontinue them,” officials said, adding, an expert commit- tee is expected to be set up to review all the fellowship programmes along with the proposal to hold a national examination. UGC, had resolved to discontinue the non- NET fellowship in a meeting held on October 7, contending that the fellowship programme was discriminatory in nature and lacked uniformity among universities in the selection process. “Continuing the scheme would have also meant huge financial implications for UGC as the expenditure in 2014- 15 alone, was to the tune of ` 99.16 crores,” said UGC secretary in a communication to the ministry.
A UGC meeting in April had stated that the recent hike in the rate of scholarships had the potential of adversely affecting other fellowship.