NGOs tout students Into B-grade universities And demand ‘registration fee’ from them.
MANY NGOs demand a huge sum from the students in lieu of the original certificates.
Students stranded mid-way as Universities expel them claiming they received no money from the Union HRD ministry.
Many dubious NGO’s openly patronized by higher-ups in the State government.
Srinagar, September 26(KSNN): The much pampered Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) launched to provide monetary assistance to the students of Jammu and Kashmir willing to pursue job-oriented courses in medicine, engineering, technology and other streams in various Universities outside the state has deflated as many NGOs tout students in to B-grade universities and demand huge registration fees from them. The state government is now mulling legal action against these NGOs who reportedly are blackmailing students by withholding their original certificates and are demanding huge sums of money from students in lieu of the original documents.
Many valley-based NGOs touted thousands of students in to the various colleges and the Universities in the states like Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka without confirming the actual status of the scholarship. It was only when angry students assembled at the office of Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation, a Srinagar-based NGO, and raised slogans against the NGO for duping them in the name of the scholarships that the matter came in the media gaze. The students had earlier also raised slogans against this NGO in Press lane.
“Our career is ruined. The colleges have expelled us and we are forced out of every College that we are forcibly migrated to,” said a student who went on to allege that the NGO had taken the original documents and a registration fee of about twenty five thousand rupees in lieu of the admission process.
The colleges outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir are expelling students to other colleges after no monetary funding reached them from the Union HRD Ministry. The students, however, claim that the union HRD Ministry’s Website clearly shows that the Colleges had received ample funds from HRD Ministry. . The Cambridge Engineering College in Punjab expelled scores of students claiming that no monetary help reached the college.
At the Cambridge Engineering College approved by the AICTE, Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Government of Punjab the career of around 88 Kashmiri students is at stake as the College Website satirically states that the Kashmiri students ‘vanished’ in to the other colleges of the Punjab state after no money from Union HRD Ministry reached the College.
“It was the college authorities who requested MHRD in June 2013 to intimate the status of scholarship to these students. In late June and July college received two installments from AICTE in the form of tuition fee only Rs 49,500/- per student for 45 students only out of 88 students. The scholarship of 43 students has not been approved by the concerned authorities of Govt. of India. It is strange situation that instead of beneficiaries i.e. students the college made all out efforts for the release of scholarship. The students have nothing to lose. They have completed one year of education without making any payment for the Tuition, boarding lodging and transportation. These 88 students have vanished and had already taken admissions in 2nd year B.Tech Course in other colleges of Punjab as per information available with the college. It is wrong that college is trying to spoil the career of these students the fact lies that the 43 students have been refused scholarship claim so there is no question of spoiling their future scholarship claims,” states the University’s website page.
When contacted a top administrator at Cambridge Engineering College said that the College authorities have categorically shot letters to all colleges in Punjab not to entertain any student from Kashmir for next year’s admission.
“You see these Kashmir based NGOs tricked us in to this trap. We were promised monetary help but it never came. Only the Kashmir-based NGOs are to blame for this. We have shot a letter to all the colleges in Punjab not to entertain any Kashmiri student in future,” a top administrator told The Kashmir Scenario.
A Union HRD circular clearly states that the family income of students who can opt for this special scholarship Scheme should be less than five lakh a year. However, The Kashmir Scenario has learnt that a good chunk of the students pursuing various courses under this scheme are sons of senior gazette officers whose individual salary per annum is more than five lakh.
“In our batch a good majority of students are from the high-income families. Strangely the scholarship of only those students was issued leaving a majority of us in dock. First the College administration in association with the valley based NGOs expelled us from one College and forced us to migrate to a B-grade college. After a few months that college also showed us the door. It is a huge scandal and the valley-based NGOs are hand in glove with the colleges outside the valley,” fumed a student protesting in front of the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation Office.
While maintaining that Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation was not an NGO, a top source in the organisation told The Kashmir Scenario that it was actually the Union HRD ministry that did not issue the funds and their NGO has nothing to do with the issue.
“We are doing social work. Our job is to provide information to students regarding the scheme and the best available colleges in their choicest stream. You see Kashmiri students have created indiscipline in the college and that is why they have been expelled,” said an employee of the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation.
On their website, The Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation states names of renowned personalities of the valley as their district co-coordinators, Vice-presidents and other key members. The Governor of the state of the Jammu and Kashmir NN Vohra happens to be the Chief patron of the organization. When The Kashmir Scenario tried to contact a few of these people, they pleaded ignorance about the matter. A former Director of Radio Kashmir who according to the JK Peace Foundation’s website holds the key post in the organization pleaded his ignorance about the matter. A teacher at MERC department of the University of Kashmir also pleaded her ignorance about JK Peace Foundation while as the website shows her as the District Co-Ordinator for Srinagar.
“How come the governor of the state is the Chief Patron of this organization? When we saw names of the renowned personalities of the Kashmir valley as members of JK Peace Foundation, we trusted it but we were cheated. Government should take strict action against the JK PEACE Foundation and all those people associated with it. The career of our children is ruined,” fumed an agitated parent.
In order to avoid bunching of students a Union Human Resource Development Ministry circular clearly states that a college can at the maximum entertain only five Kashmiri students for the Prime Ministers Scholarship Scheme. It is baffling how hundreds of gullible students are admitted in various colleges on the promise of a scholarship but are then forced to migrate to various B-grade colleges.
“This five student per College circular is not acceptable to us. Does it mean our students have to study in some B-grade college in Sikkim and Manipur? This circular is not the final word on the issue. We are relentlessly pursuing the case with Union Human Resource Ministry regarding this,” said Rabia Baji of All India Centre l for Urban and Rural Development (AICURD).
The NGOs which were there to guide students are now getting students admitted through proxy consultancies. All these Kashmir-based NGOs have offices in New Delhi where by students are admitted to various colleges in contravention of union HRD Ministry circulars and orders.
The plot appears even more sinister as the majority of the NGOs including Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation, JK Peoples Forum and Peoples Forum are refusing to divulge details of the students who were sent in various colleges for scholarships. The silence of the NGOs is giving credence to the theory that it is actually the NGOs who are collecting money from students in the name of Colleges.
“We were asked to pay twenty five thousand as registration fee in the NGO Office at Rajbagh. The paper clearly has the stamp of the NGO on it,” said a Jammu based candidate while pleading anonymity.
In some cases, when students were thrown out of the colleges, they were also told that the original certificates of the students are lying with the NGOs which is tantamount to a breach of student’s privacy and can make them prone to blackmail by the NGOs.
A student telephoned The Kashmir Scenario office and said an NGO JK Peoples Forum threatened him that if he did not pay ten thousand rupees, his original certificates would never be returned.
“We were made to write an application saying that we are willingly leaving the course mid-way. Those who refused to write the application were told that their original certificates would never be returned. We were asked to deposit ten thousand rupees with the NGO, and then only would our original certificates be returned,” a student told The Kashmir Scenario telephonically.
AICURD is the only NGO to give details of every student send outside on scholarship basis on its website. Rabia baji of AICURD states that an NGO cannot withhold original certificate of a candidate.
“Only the University can retain the certificates for the verification process but they have to be returned to the students once the verification process ends. An NGO can in no way withhold the original certificates. If this is happening anywhere, a criminal case should be lodged against that NGO or any other organization indulging in this act. I published many advertisements wherein I asked the students to verify the credentials of the organisations before applying for scholarship,” said Rabia Baji.
Minister for Higher Education Muhammad Akbar Lone says that the state government should register a police case in this regard.
“This scheme has been hijacked by some people with vested interests. The role of all NGOs must be thoroughly probed. You see I have no direct concern with it. The state government has asked the Police to start investigating the matter. Those found guilty should be punished,” Lone told The Kashmir Scenario over phone.
Abdul Gani Vakil of the State Congress party is even more vocal and says that a criminal case of fraud should be registered against these NGOs.
“They have simply looted the Kashmiri students. It is a clear cut case of cheating. The state government must take them to task. The future of thousands of students is at stake,” Vakil told The Kashmir Scenario.
The Union Minister for Human Resources Development(HRD) Shashi Tharoor who was in Srinagar recently said that central government is mulling a way out as thousands of complaints have been received regarding this scheme and the unnecessary meddling of the NGOs
“We have received many complaints regarding this scheme. We would look in to the matter. Students should not suffer and I would see to it that they do not suffer,” Shashi Tharoor told a Srinagar based news gathering agency.
Many members of the civil society are aghast at the sloppy response of the government regarding this issue.
“At a time when these NGO people should have been behind the bars, they are freely foxing dozens of other gullible students in to the trap of this scheme. I just wonder why the state government is not taking any action against these NGOs,” said a teacher at the Department of Political Science in the University of Kashmir on conditions of anonymity.
“While voices are being raised against these NGOs, it remains to be seen will the state government come out of cocoon and take some action against these NGOs. My career is ruined but I do not want that someone else’s career should also be ruined,” said an affected student Mudasir.
NGOs tout students
Into B-grade universities
And demand ‘registration fee’ from them.