Maharashtra State Commission for SC & ST pulls up MU for taking five years to handover a reserved category student his Masters scholarship
Reserved category student Viraj Pandagale received his Masters scholarship amount of '11,321 on February 17, just three days after mid-day reported about his five-year struggle to get it. But considering the amount of time the Mumbai University (MU) has taken to hand over the scholarship to Pandagale, even though it was sanctioned by the government in 2015, the Maharashtra State Commission for SC & ST has asked the varsity to take action against the officials concerned due to whom the process got delayed.
Pandagale had completed his one-year Masters in Education course in 2013-14. While he continued to fight for his scholarship, he completed his PhD and bagged a job in a temporary position in the varsity. It was only after he approached the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) and the state Social Welfare Department intervened, his case came to light.
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Following a hearing in the matter, the commission issued an order, which states, "It has been proven in the hearing that Pandagale was deprived of his scholarship for a long time and the MU representative present also confirmed it. It was brought to notice that the student was finally handed over the amount on February 17, 2020. This amounts to great delay, and so as explained in the regulations, this does call for action against those responsible for it — starting from the head of the department to administration. Considering this, the varsity should conduct an inquiry and take action against those responsible for the harassment." The commission has also asked the varsity to submit a detailed inquiry and action-taken report, and send a copy of the same to the office of the state higher and technical education minister.
Talking about the development, vice-president of MNVS, Santosh Gangurde, who had raised the issue on behalf of the complainant, said, "It is good news that the commission has not only taken cognisance of the complaint but has also ensured that action is taken. At the same time, it is important to note that there might be many others facing the same struggle. We need to learn from past experiences and ensure that history is not repeated. Mumbai University should take proactive steps to find out all such cases and work toward hassle-free and speedy redressal of scholarship grievances. While we have already submitted our request to the Governor of Maharashtra, in his capacity of Chancellor of all state universities, to issue such orders, it will be great if the commission too asks varsities to take these steps." Registrar of MU, Ajay Deshmukh was unavailable for comment.
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No. of years it took the varsity to hand it over
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