Maharashtra State Commission for SC & ST pulls up MU for taking five years to handover a reserved category student his Masters scholarship
Following a hearing in the matter, the commission issued an order, which states, "It has been proven in the hearing that Pandagale was deprived of his scholarship for a long time and the MU representative present also confirmed it. It was brought to notice that the student was finally handed over the amount on February 17, 2020. This amounts to great delay, and so as explained in the regulations, this does call for action against those responsible for it — starting from the head of the department to administration. Considering this, the varsity should conduct an inquiry and take action against those responsible for the harassment." The commission has also asked the varsity to submit a detailed inquiry and action-taken report, and send a copy of the same to the office of the state higher and technical education minister.
Talking about the development, vice-president of MNVS, Santosh Gangurde, who had raised the issue on behalf of the complainant, said, "It is good news that the commission has not only taken cognisance of the complaint but has also ensured that action is taken. At the same time, it is important to note that there might be many others facing the same struggle. We need to learn from past experiences and ensure that history is not repeated. Mumbai University should take proactive steps to find out all such cases and work toward hassle-free and speedy redressal of scholarship grievances. While we have already submitted our request to the Governor of Maharashtra, in his capacity of Chancellor of all state universities, to issue such orders, it will be great if the commission too asks varsities to take these steps." Registrar of MU, Ajay Deshmukh was unavailable for comment.
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No. of years it took the varsity to hand it over
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