Nearly 3,000 students could not appear for the AICTE-conducted verification drive for counseling in Srinagar to avail the ‘Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme for J&K’ — to study engineering and technical courses — in educational institutions outside the State as the regulator cancelled the last two days of the session due to floods. The AICTE has not made any alternate arrangements for conducting the drive since then. To make matters worse, a large number of students who made it were refused admission to colleges allotted to them.
In all, 5,000 scholarships are awarded annually under the scheme to eligible students of J&K who are admitted to different colleges or institutes outside the State through a centralised counselling process. Against this backdrop, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday met HRD Minister Smriti Irani and sought her Ministry’s intervention in solving the difficulties being faced by the students in getting admissions to colleges under the scheme.
The Minister, who hails from the State and is an MP from Doda Parliamentary constituency, requested the HRD Minister to accord highest priority to the issue before it leads to avoidable youth discontent. Singh was earlier tasked by the Centre to work out a solution to the deadlock created by civil services aspirants over the UPSC-conducted CSAT row for selection in IAS and other all India services.
Irani was informed by Singh that there were instances where students in spite of completion of all the formalities and procedural requirements could not secure a berth at any of the engineering colleges. Under the same scheme, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has created two seats under supernumerary quota in all recognised higher education institutions including the Delhi University.
“It is, therefore, difficult to understand, why the university authorities are denying admission to the students despite the completion of all the admission formalities,” Singh pointed to the HRD Minister during his meeting.
Singh said the DU Vice Chancellor has already been approached to issue instructions to all the colleges affiliated to the university to implement the decision, but even after that the colleges have failed to comply. “The college session is already in process for the last few months and the delay in admission could adversely affect careers of the students,” the Minister said.
The counseling was undertaken by AICTE in the Valley from September 1 to 5 but was short spanned and discontinued on the last two days (September 4 and 5) when the city was hit by floods. Students from J&K who had travelled from across the country to reach the venue on the last two days were not entertained. When the affected candidates approached AICTE offices, including that in Delhi, they were told that nothing could be done since the session had already begun and the scholarships were issued on a first come, first serve, basis.
When asked about the allegations, AICTE chairman SS Mantha had recently told The Pioneer that the council tried to meet all the expectations of the scholarships seekers also keeping in mind the UGC’s academic regulations. Mantha, however, alleged that some of the students were being misguided by some NGOs without understating the issue.