Following a major delegation headed by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ (JNUSU) representatives, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has promised to guarantee fellowship distribution. The period for claiming unpaid arrears will also be extended till October 8. According to JNUSU, the commission acknowledged the delays related to non-National Eligibility Test (NET) and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) awards.
This change comes as a reaction to recurring concerns from students regarding the timely disbursement of money, reflecting a commitment to addressing these challenges and supporting the academic community.
On September 30, the student union organized a big delegation to the UGC to raise recurring concerns with fellowship disbursement. During the discussion with the UGC’s joint secretary, the student representatives noted that Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) students had not received their fellowships since May, despite the fact that these monies were reported as generated in the SMFP portal. Furthermore, they stated that many students had been waiting for their non-NET scholarships for months without being paid. JNUSU has requested that the deadline to claim pending arrears be extended until August 2025, as the current deadline is set for October 8.
JNUSU stated, “UGC responded that the arrears claimed in the 1st to 8th August window will be disbursed in the current cycle, within a couple of days along with the previous month’s fellowship. For those claimed in September, the current month fellowship will be disbursed.”
Concerning the non-NET fellowships, the UGC clarified that this matter is the responsibility of individual universities and falls under their management. Furthermore, the UGC assured the JNUSU representatives that the deadline for claiming pending arrears, which is presently scheduled for October 8, 2024, will indeed be extended. This assurance was communicated to the students during their discussions, providing them with some relief regarding their financial concerns.
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Source: News18
