VILLUPURAM: Following a recent controversy over the delay in release of funds under the Annal Ambedkar Overseas Higher Education Scholarship for a Dalit PhD scholar from Tamil Nadu studying at the National University of Malaysia, the Tamil Nadu Social Justice Department has proposed to tweak the guidelines to prevent funding delays from the next academic year.
Speaking to TNIE, department secretary K Senthil Raj said to get research funds, beneficiaries must now submit an official endorsement letter signed and sealed by their university authority, department head, or guide to verify all bills. “Research funds will not be paid until the endorsement letter is submitted,” the official said.
The scholarship is capped at Rs 36 lakh for students doing post-graduation and doctoral degrees abroad under the scheme. The scholarship fund covers visa charges and tickets, living expenses (including food, lifestyle), tuition fees and cost of research materials.
Official sources said that research funds require an endorsement letter for the bills while other funds will be released to the students’ account on the basis of bills produced by the students. Tuition fees will be paid directly to the university, sources said.
Students usually present bills for research materials, which include project models, chemicals, and other materials used for research during that academic year. “The endorsement letter is for the sole purpose of keeping it in the audit report of the department,” Raj said.
Students pursuing any course under the scholarship must also provide an undertaking that they won’t file research bills their individual capacity for reimbursement, officials said.
‘Procedural norms to be clarified in revised guideline’
“When the funds are audited, each bill associated with research spending will be checked and its authenticity will be verified using the endorsement letter. Without it, the audit report would directly question the use of scholarship funds by the student and the department officials for accepting them blindly,” Senthil Raj further said.
The procedural norms will be further clarified in a revised guideline soon, stated Social Justice minister Vanni Arasu. “In order to prevent any confusion in the future, the department is framing guidelines on the endorsement letter submissions for all students under the scholarship,” Arasu told TNIE.
