Professional college managements are being accused of siphoning-off scholarship funds meant for minority students.
While the state government has been reimbursing the colleges an amount of `35,500 per annum for minority students to pursue engineering courses, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University prescribed fee is `31,000.
The managements are not returning the excess amount of `4,500 to stu
dents to enable them to use it for purchasing books and other academic needs.
The minorities welfare department allots `31,000 as tuition fee and `4,500 as scholarship amount for each minority student whose annual family income is below `1 lakh.
The minorities welfare department has been crediting the entire amount into the bank accounts of colleges because a majority of students don’t have bank accounts.
The managements are exploiting this to their advantage. They say the minorities welfare depart
ment credits the amount in four instalments and they will return the `4,500 only after they receive the entire reimbursement amount at the end of the academic year.
Students, however, complain that even at the end of the year they are not returned the amount of `4,500. “They are refusing to return the amount, saying it was adjusted towards special fee, exam fee, library fee etc. This way, they are openly looting the students. Despite lodging complaints with the minorities welfare department, no action has been taken against the errant managements,” said Mr Mohd Basith, a third year B.Tech student.
