It is sleepless nights for students whose education hangs on the scholarships provided by the State government. The late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s decision to reimburse fee for all Economically Backward Class (EBC) students in all degree, PG and professional courses brought smiles on the faces of many students, but the inordinate delay is taxing the students.
The scholarship was meant for students whose parents’ annual income was less than Rs 1 lakh. The last date for applying for scholarships for the Economically Backward Classes was October 20, but the Students’ Welfare Association made a request to the Chief Minister K Rosaiah to extend the date till November 20.

The Directorate of Collegiate Education was handling the scholarships and fee reimbursements earlier, but the responsibility now rests with the Backward Classes Welfare

Department because of the huge demand.

The Chief Minister admitted that there were some procedural hassles in the implementation of the GO issued for the purpose and promised to look into the matter. It may be recalled that YS Rajasekhara Reddy had taken up the scheme with Rs. 30 crore in the first year and during 2008-09 the allocation rose to Rs. 350 crore.

Some students are also jerked up with the idea of online procedure of administering fee-reimbursement. Many feel that this is a move to leave out some beneficiaries just like the online web counselling that proved to be a damp squib. Student union leader Narsireddy voiced concern on the State government’s move of online fee reimbursement. He recalled that earlier, the students filled their plea online but the money was deposited into their accounts manually.  

The government has assured last year’s beneficiaries that the money would be deposited by November 30, but the students have their own reservations. Even managements of some colleges expressed doubts over the government’s sincerity. A managing director of a group of institutions said the delay in fee reimbursement could be partly due to fund crunch or technical glitches.

To keep their slate clean, the website developers of the fee-waiver scheme (www.sbms.ap.gov.in) said that the servers were unable to carry the pressure of the huge data. They said that a sum of Rs 2.5 crore had been sanctioned to keep the servers in proper order and remove all software glitches.

Another fear gripping the needy students is whether all those who apply may not be genuine and mar the chances of the needy. These days it is easy to procure an income certificate and apply for the scholarship, some students opined.

Another scholarship tragedy awaited the minority students. Even before the admission process was over, the A.P State Minorities’ Finance Corporation (APSMFC) called for applications by August 31. However, the date was extended and the last date was fixed at October 31.

Mohammad Ansari, president of AP Muslim Educational Rights Protection Committee, said that the earlier move would have affected nearly 50,000 minority students, including 10,000 in Eamcet, 6,000 for MBA and MCA, 300 for MBBS, and 8,000 B.Ed. The minority students are also facing the problem of opening a bank account and obtaining income certificates. Despite government instructions, many nationalised banks are refusing to open accounts with zero balance and are insisting on a minimum deposit of Rs 500. Some students alleged that MROs/Tahsildars were issuing certificates only after

their palms were greased.
There are also allegations that some colleges embezzled scholarship and fee reimbursement funds to the tune of Rs 75 lakh between 1998 and 2002. The state government has slapped notices on 114 private colleges in the state capital under the Revenue Recovery Act.

It has come to light that some colleges claimed scholarships and tuition fee of students multiple times in one academic year. Colleges topping the misappropriation list include the HRD Degree College, Narayanguda, of Rs 4.72 lakh and Stanley Junior College, Abids, Rs 4.13 lakh.