Studends reject Yuva Nidhi, demand scholarships

BENGALURU: Students in Karnataka are struggling to get scholarships. Those belonging to OBC, SC and ST communities, who are pursuing courses like MBA, MBBS and others, are not receiving scholarships, leaving them frustrated.

Instead of providing unemployment benefits like Yuva Nidhi, the government should encourage education by providing scholarships, they urge.

The students are alleging that the government is treating them unfairly . The All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) conducted a survey, which revealed that 97 per cent of students did not receive scholarships.

“The government should not show indifference to scholarships, which help poor students. They should provide scholarships without citing lack of funds as an excuse”, students said.

Vinaychandra, leader of AIDSO, said, “BCM, engineering and medical students, whether they are from OBC, SC or ST backgrounds, are not getting scholarships properly for the last three years. We have conducted research on scholarship recipients. According to the statistics, about 45 per cent of students did not get scholarships in 2022, about 65 per cent in 2023, 95 per cent of students ( OBC, SC/ST) did not receive scholarships. AIDSO had held many protests demanding scholarships, but did not get a proper response”.

“Medical students get scholarship of Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000 annually; engineering students get Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per year. But they have not received any money. It should be considered as a ‘Rights of Students.’. The AIDSO is decided to hold a statewide protest, ‘Bengaluru Chalo,’ on March 6 demanding issuing due scholarships for the students”, he said.

A student said, “The government has imposed many restrictions on Yuva Nidhi. Students pursuing degree courses, and if a person gets a job soon after education, will not get this benefit. They are eligible for scholarships, but one-and-half years have already over due to delay in the announcement of the results by KEA. We have given a promise to our parents that we will bear our education expenses like fee with the support of scholarships, but now, we are facing problems. We have requested the government to extend the date to pay the fee, but they are not ready to agree with us. Scholarship is needed to continue our education”.