Professional college managements are being accused of siphoning-off scholarship funds meant for minority students. While the state government has been reimbursing the colleges an amount of Rs 35,500 per annum for minority students to pursue engineering courses, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University prescribed fee is Rs 31,000.
The managements are not returning the excess amount of Rs 4,500 to students to enable them to use it for purchasing books and other academic needs. The minorities welfare department allots Rs 31,000 as tuition fee and Rs 4,500 as scholarship amount for each minority student whose annual family income is below Rs 1 lakh.
The minorities welfare department has been crediting the entire amount into the bank accounts of colleges because a majority of students don’t have bank accounts. The managements are exploiting this to their advantage. They say the minorities welfare department credits the amount in four instalments and they will return the Rs 4,500 only after they receive the entire reimbursement amount at the end of the academic year.
Students, however, complain that even at the end of the year they are not returned the amount of Rs 4,500. “They are refusing to return the amount, saying it was adjusted towards special fee, exam fee, library fee etc. This way, they are openly looting the students. Despite lodging complaints with the minorities welfare department, no action has been taken against the errant managements,” said Mr Mohd Basith, a third year B.Tech student.