Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) today denied it has withdrawn all forms of financial aid to students belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities, saying it continues to follow central government guidelines on scholarships.
Significantly, TISS Students Union is on strike alleging that the administration has withdrawn financial aid provided to students from these categories, who are otherwise exempted from paying the tuition fee, the dining hall charge and the hostel fee.
"The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) categorically denies having stopped any scholarships for its students, and is continuing to follow all government guidelines on student welfare," the Institute said in a release here.
Stating that the central government post-matric scholarship is paid by the social welfare/tribal welfare department of the respective state governments on receipt of applications submitted by eligible students, the statement said, these scholarships are transferred by the government concerned directly to the student bank accounts and that "Institute has no role either in the sanction or disbursement of the scholarships."
"The role of the Institute is restricted to only certifying the bonafides of the student applicants. Therefore, the claim that the TISS administration has stopped central government post-matric scholarships for eligible reserved category students is incorrect."
"Course fees for the eligible GOI post-matric reserved category students are still exempted. The students are only required to pay dining hall charges and hostel fees on actual basis, which is the norm in all universities," the statement said.
The Institute also denied that semester examinations have been cancelled, saying that there was a class test which some students could not attend.
"The Institute authorities are in continuous dialogue with the students since February 21. The administration team met a group of 20 student representatives on February 22 for three hours to discuss their charter of demands," the statement said.
"For the 2016-18 batch, all the SC/ST GoI-PMS scholarship holders registered for the Masters' programme in 2016-18 will be permitted to continue with their studies and appear for examinations in March - April, 2018.
"The hostel charges, additionally are waived off. The payment of dining hall charges are being deferred until the time that the students have the means to do so (as and when they receive the scholarship amount from the Government in their accounts or when they get employed). The consultation process is continuing," the statement added.
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