BANGALORE: This year, the state may miss its quota of international students who come to study various undergraduate courses under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship scheme.
According to information available from various colleges in the city, at least 900 students would come to Karnataka under the scheme. But this time, ICCR, Delhi, directed the students to go to colleges in other cities.
Authorities from a number of colleges told Express they had received the list of international students allotted to them, but at the last minute, they were sent to colleges in Hyderabad and other cities.
An official of a city-based college said, “We even tried contacting the students allotted to us. They said they have got instructions from the Delhi office to join colleges in Hyderabad.”
According to information available from colleges and ICCR’s Bangalore office, this year, 900 students were allotted to state colleges, a majority of which are in Bangalore and a few in Mysore and Mangalore.
According to ICCR officials in Delhi, Bangalore University (BU) is to be blamed for this. “The University has not furnished the information on fee structure for foreign students and it is difficult to send students without knowing the course fee,” said an official.
When contacted, Bangalore University officials claimed to have furnished all the required information and said blaming the University was meaningless.
Speaking to Express, BU Vice-chancellor Dr B Thimme Gowda said, “We have released the fee structure for foreign students and, if there is a need for further information, we are ready to furnish it. We have no information about diverting students from our university.”
The students under the scheme are from 135 countries. Most of the scholarship holders come from developing countries in Asia, Africa, South and Central Americas and they get a scholarship of `8,000 per month.
BVM Bhooshan, director of Acharya Group of Institutions, said, “If we miss students under the ICCR scheme this year, students of this batch will lose an opportunity to interact with students from different countries.”
According to him, it is a great opportunity for cultural exchange.
“We were allotted 90 students and there is no information on them reporting yet. As per rules, we need to complete the admission process by July-end,” he added.
However, director of ICCR, Bangalore, (regional office) Sarala Unnikrishnan said, “I have no information about this. Only the Delhi office can provide the information.”
Among the colleges that were allotted students are Acharya Group of Institutions, CMR Group of Institutions, Brindavan College and Indian Academy.