UP to Register IITs for Scholarships After Student Fee Issue
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Enrolling all the IITs, IIMs, and prime institutes in its Department of Social Welfare, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to do so so that scholarship benefits could reach eligible students hassle-free. The move comes a near-near loss of an IIT seat due to delayed payment of a fee by Dalit student Atul Kumar, 18, who lives in Muzaffarnagar.
Kumar who hails from a family of a daily wage earner, managed to get a seat in IIT Dhanbad’s Electrical Engineering branch but by just a few minutes could not pay the admission fee of ₹17,500 within the specified time which nearly deprived him of the seat. The Supreme Court intervened and ordered IIT Dhanbad to induct him. As a counter to the UP state government has promised to pay all the fees of Kumar through the scholarship that he would get.
The state Social Welfare Minister, Asim Arun, said institutes like IITs and IIMs will have to register themselves and the scholarships for eligible students from Uttar Pradesh will be issued in time. The first institute to be registered through this initiative will be IIT Dhanbad. “Registration is complete, and it will be okay by Thursday,” Arun said in a statement.
Currently, institutes such as IITs that are based outside the state are not registered with the welfare department of the state. Because of this, it resulted in delayed disbursement of scholarships. The minister was in contact with the registrar of IIT Dhanbad, who agreed on expediting the registration process so that a similar situation would not recur.
The Social Welfare Department, which manages all kinds of scholarships in the whole state, would also provide Kumar with a “free-ship card.” Free-ship card is also one of a new initiative the state government initiated this year. This card, equipped with a free-ship card, would allow a student to join institutions with a zero-balance admission. Arun reassured Kumar’s family that the state government was committed to financially supporting his education.
This is in a way to simplify the manner through which the grants will be offered, thus avoiding financial challenges for students and ensuring equal access to quality education across major learning institutions.
