The situation at the Deonar campus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has been quite tense since Wednesday morning
Over 500 students gathered at the Deonar campus to stage a protest
The situation at the Deonar campus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has been quite tense since Wednesday morning. More than 500 students have gathered at the institute to stage a protest against the administration's decision to stop the scholarships for reserved category students. Protestors have not only blocked the gates of the institute but have also planned to boycott classes till they get a response from the authorities. What is even worse, they plan to continue the protest through the night.
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Sources said that the institute's students have been protesting against the issue over the past couple of years, as the authorities slowly cut down the scholarships for reserved category students. But this time, the matter has taken a serious turn. However, the administration has sighted fund crunch as the main reason behind the step.
Shefali Saini, a student of the institute said, "TISS has always given scholarships to reserved category students, but the authorities have been slowly reducing it over the years. First, they stopped it for the OBC students, and now for the SC/ST ones. This is in violation of their constitutional rights. It's not our problem that the institute is not getting grants from the government."
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"This is going to affect nearly 350 SC/ST students from TISS. The number will be much higher if we include OBC students and candidates from other campuses of the institute," she added.
However, a statement issued by the institute registrar said, "The Government of India Post Matric Scholarship is paid by the Social Welfare Department/Tribal Welfare Department of the respective state government on receipt of an application submitted by the student. The institute plays no role in the scholarship disbursement process, except certifying it. These scholarships are transferred directly to the bank accounts of students. The institute has not stopped the facility. TISS is following all the guidelines of the Government of India."
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