About 250 Kashmiri students of Jaipur’s Suresh Gyan Vihar University (SGVU) are pleading every Muslim house in the city for help after being shunted out of their hostel. The students are forced to suffer this ordeal because the university reportedly did not receive the scholarship amount extended to them by the central government, which says the university is “fake”.
Since 2014, 420 students sought admission at SGVU under the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme. The students mostly come from militancy-torn areas of Baramulla, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Sofian, Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri, Kargil, Leh, Ladakh, Srinagar and Jammu. The scholarship, which includes tuition, hostel and mess fees, is released on an annual basis. The Centre released scholarship support for only 100 students in May 2016. The remaining 320, including 70 girls, are awaiting funding.
While the girls have been allowed to stay in the hostel, the boys many of them studying for the past three years were issued notices to vacate the hostel on August 1. They can attend classes if they can manage their stay in the city.
With nowhere to go, they are now knocking every possible door for help for early release of funds and at the same time seeking shelter anywhere possible. “The university claims it have not received a single penny from the government on my behalf since my admission in 2015. Why did the government award scholarship when they had no plans to release funds? I can barely afford a week’s stay at the dormitory,” said 21-year old Tausif, an aspiring engineer who is a resident of Sopore in Kashmir Valley.
Rajasthan university shuts hostel door on 250 J&K students
