SFI Petitions President To Extend Fellowship And Reject UGC Proposal

Several student organisations including Students’ Federation of India (SFI), under the banner of All India Forum to Save Public Education will write to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind regarding the challenges faced by the student community across the country due to the pandemic. The letter will be sent to the President via a mass mail campaign on June 15,2021. The petition (chng.it/G69wqj8sdN) strongly oppose the UGC panel’s proposal on the blended mode of teaching and learning and sees it as an attempt to make higher education exclusive for the socio-economically advantaged as well as to deteriorate the quality of the higher education sector. The petition demands a universal vaccination program for all the members of educational institutions including faculties, non-teaching and administrative staffs and students, claiming that it will help in the speedy reopening of educational institutions.

The petition highlights the issues faced by research scholars and demands to immediately extend the provision of non-NET fellowships, JRF and various other scholarships to all research scholars across the country, including those in state and government-aided institutes. “Furthermore, while the UGC has announced an extension in the submission of their work to all terminal MPhil/ PhD scholars, there has been no extension in the duration of their fellowships announced yet. The lack of financial assistance will lead to female students and those from marginalised communities to drop out of their research programmes,” it said.

The petition also stated the need to ensure that students who apply for higher education do not face any discrimination due to the differential policy of board examination, especially the students coming from marginalised communities. The student organisations also demanded special packages for families of students from marginalised communities who have been one of the most affected sections of society.

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