HYDERABAD: The state government has finally decided to come to the rescue of 64 students from South Sudan, who have been unable to get their scholarships from the war-torn country in the last six months. But not before a long battle on administrative bottlenecks and red-tapism.
Three months ago, an NGO had approached a senior IAS officer in Telangana Secretariat with a request to help 64 Sudanese students of an engineering college in Ibrahimpatnam on the city outskirts.
Though, the subject was not the responsibility of the IAS officer, he approached the General Administration Department (GAD) to provide some financial assistance to Sudan students about three months ago.
When, the file was circulated, the GAD officials wanted the officer to get the permission from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Then, the officer contacted another official concerned and requested him to send the proposal to MEA.The MEA took almost six weeks time.
However, the MEA remained ambivalent about the issue and didn’t guarantee help. Sources said that the MEA had expressed doubts over the fate of “diplomatic relations” between India and Sudan.
Finally, the MEA informed the State that it would not provide any financial assistance and wanted the State to take a decision on it, sources added. Later, the officer who pursued the matter again approached the GAD, which also stated that it would not provide aid to the students.
Later, the officer spoke to NRI Affairs Minister KT Rama Rao and finally the State government decided to aid the 64 Sudan students in question, from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).Accordingly, each of the 64 Sudan students will get a monthly allowance of `5,000 for next six months, as temporary relief.
The State will soon organise a meeting and NRI Affairs Minister will disburse the first instalment to the students. “It took me more than three months for providing the help,” the officer, who initiated the process on the request of an NGO said.
Civil-war hit students
The students were devastated due to the civil war in South Sudan. The State government has agreed to garnt solatium based on humanitarian grounds. The civil war in Sudan divided the country into three zones and the students in Hyderabad lost contact with their parents.