Dr Jitendra takes up J&K students’ issue with HRD Minister

Excelsior Correspondent

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh receiving a memorandum from the aggrieved students of "Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme for J&K" at New Delhi on Monday.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh receiving a memorandum from the aggrieved students of “Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme for J&K” at New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI, Oct 20: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh today took up with Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Smriti Irani, the issue of aggrieved students from Jammu & Kashmir who had been refused admission in the respective colleges allotted to them under the “Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme for J&K” in spite of all the formalities and procedural requirements having been duly completed by them.
Assuring the students of getting their genuine grievance redressed, Dr Jitendra Singh personally got in touch with HRD Ministry and then also wrote a detailed letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani explaining the entire sequence of events leading to the present state of discontent among these students.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, under the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme for students belonging to J & K State, scholarships are awarded to eligible students who are admitted to different colleges/institutes through a centralized counseling process carried out by the AICTE. Under the same scheme, he went on to state, the UGC has created two seats under supernumerary quota in all recognized higher education institutions including the University of Delhi.
It is, therefore, difficult to understand, said Dr Jitendra Singh, why the University authorities are denying admission to the students despite the completion of all formalities.
In response to a rejoinder by the concerned colleges that they have received no such instructions from University of Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the UGC was approached, following which the UGC Secretary wrote to the Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi with the advice to issue instructions to all the colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi to implement the decision, but even after that, the colleges have failed to respond.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the college session is already in process for the last few months and the delay of admission could adversely affect the career of these students. He has personally sought the intervention of Union HRD Minister and requested her to accord highest priority to the issue before it leads to avoidable youth unrest.