NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday rejected the allegation by its students’ union that it had not released merit-cum-means (MCM) scholarships worth Rs 50 lakh to BA and MA students for the past eight months.
“There is no provision for MCM funds in the annual grants received from the University Grants Commission. Therefore, the JNU has been giving MCM scholarship from the tuition fees collected from its students,” read a statement from the office of the varsity’s finance officer.
“The total fees collected from the students is only Rs 1.90 crore yearly. But JNU has been disbursing, on an average, Rs 3.50 crore every year, which far exceeds the amount collected in fees from JNU students. With the current fee structure in JNU, meeting the cost of the MCM scholarship is becoming very difficult. Moreover, with the rise in the number of students in the university, the number of applications for MCM has also increased,” it added.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union had alleged that the money for MCM was allocated from the university’s funds, and if the administration did not have money to release to students, it meant the money was being illegally diverted for other purposes.
“Majority of the students submit their scholarship forms for MCM only once or twice in a semester, not each month, and so the disbursal of money, too, is done accordingly. The forms for MCM scholarship until November 2018 are being processed and the students will get their money shortly. There is no delay in disbursing scholarships,” the statement read.