Students of the 2018 batch will now receive stipends. (File)All research scholars enrolled in the 2018 batch will receive stipends as earlier, as Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) officials finally changed their decision to introduce a new merit-based scholarship scheme that would have been given only to a few meritorious students.
Earlier this year, SPPU had announced the JRD Tata scholarship scheme, which would benefit 100 meritorious students. According to students, the scheme placed unrealistic parameters and denied them due stipends. Students had staged a protest over the weekend against the SPPU’s decision and demanded their pending stipend amounts of last year.
The SPPU had stopped receiving stipend funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC) at least two years ago, which also made matters difficult for the SPPU to continue an earlier scholarship scheme. These funds were utilised to provide stipends to students pursuing PhD and MPhil degrees.
So instead of scrapping the scholarship, the university came up with the latest merit-based scheme and put a cap on 100 students across all subjects.
Now, PhD students will be given a monthly stipend of Rs 8,000 for a maximum period of three years. At the same time, a student pursuing MPhil will receive a stipend of Rs 5,000 every month. Based on the performance, the stipend amount can be hiked, officials suggested.
Under the new scheme, scholars will need to prepare a project progress report, which will get evaluated after six months. “However, the student’s research progress will be evaluated after every year. If it is found satisfactory, only then will there be an enhancement in the monthly stipend,” said a university official.
Students who have been awarded this scheme, as per the guidelines, should not be found pursuing any other course, apart from the designated doctoral work. The student, if found entitled to any other fellowship or stipends, will be declared ineligible for the Tata scheme.
Students who have received this fellowship and took up jobs will no longer be entitled to continue in this scheme, officials said. “Along with research progress, students are expected to maintain a monthly 75 per cent attendance during the course,” said officials.
But many of these rules have not gone down well with the students. “At the time of admission, we were assured of stipends for a period of three years. But now, we are informed that it will be reviewed after every year,” said one of the students who took part in the protests.
