Research students of Delhi University are dismayed over the delayed fellowship grants due to the “long procedure” at the university. A student has also written to the Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar over the issue. The university’s Executive Council is expected to discuss the pending issue of delayed grants to research students in the upcoming meeting, scheduled on July 14.
“I am a PhD student at Delhi University and need your help. We are entitled for getting a consolidated amount of fellowship every month. At other Department of Biotechnology institutes like National Institute of Immunology and Indian Institute of technology, the PhD students get their fellowship every month directly into their accounts like any other worker. But we have to follow a very long procedure,” a student who is an ICMR-SRF wrote in the letter.
Students’ agony has been prolonged due to “inordinate delay” and unsupportive attitude of their respective guides. “Students have to get it signed by his/her guide. Guides can or cannot be supportive. Sometimes it takes more than six months for a student to get his/her fellowship form signed,” the student stated.
Students pursuing research at the university take various fellowships including NET, non-NET, JRF, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), ICSSR and others. Executive Council (EC) member and senior lecturer at the Rajdhani College, Rajesh Jha said that in the last meeting of the council on July 3 the issue was raised during the zero-hour. “This issue is also going to be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the EC on July 14. Research involves a lot of finances. They are given very miniscule and partial assistance like just `8,000 for non-NET and that is also delayed in many cases for three to five months. We want that procedure should be simplified,” Jha told The Pioneer.
Some teachers associations have also raised this issue with senior DU administration in the past.
An official of the DU’s Research Council, said that while one of the non-NET fellowship grants has been delayed because the UGC’s nod to utilisation of its funds got delayed while some fellowship grants also get delayed by the departments. He said, the approval from guide and department is a must because the fund is issued as salary in case of employees.
“It’s not that we are not working hard neither are we working less. It is our work and we try our best to complete it in time. So, we also have the right to get our fellowship on time. The procedure doesn’t stop here,” wrote the aggrieved student requesting anonymity.
“After the guide, it goes to the administration, where it gets signed by the Head of the Department. This step also takes long as HOD is not available all the time. Finally, the form goes to finance department. The student waits for weeks, but obviously he/she needs money so he/she calls the finance dept, goes there several times,” reads the letter.
Official from DU’s Finance Department (name withheld) said that the funds from agencies are for the researchers but “delay is often from department’s end” in some cases. “Department never accepts but at times students submit applications much early while the department forwards the same late to us.”
Expressing concerns of research student’s priorities, the student has said that the university procedure is only “wastage of time”. “I, on behalf of every PhD student at all the universities, who are facing this problem, request you to kindly look into this matter. Please make a proper procedure so that we can also get our fellowship on time like students at other institutes,” the student wrote in his letter to the HRD Minister.