Some 200 students of IIT Roorkee won the ministry of science & technology’s Scholarship for Higher Education, part of the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research scheme, but have been receiving only a partial amount. They used the RTI to find out the status
With the commencement of the new academic year, a host of scholarships in different categories are announced for meritorious students who join colleges in different streams, across the country. However, in many cases, they turn out into hollow promises or are partially given. Students express helplessness as they are given evasive replies when they approach their college office.
However, in January 2012, RTI Anonymous, an online service, through which any Indian citizen can file Right to Information (RTI) applications, took up the cudgels of 200 students of the prestigious IIT Roorkee who are recipients of the esteemed SHE-INSPIRE awards—Ministry of Science and Technology of India’s Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE), part of the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme.
This scheme offers 10,000 scholarships every year at Rs80,000 for each student for pursuing Bachelor and Masters level education in the Natural & Basic Sciences. Those eligible for these scholarships are the 10,000 top rankers in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) of IIT, 10,000 top rankers in AIEEE and 10,000 top rankers of AIPMT and who also opt to study Natural and Basic Sciences in any academic institute or university leading to a graduate and post-graduate degree.
Besides the delay in receiving the scholarships, the 200 students of IIT Roorkee were receiving only Rs60,000 against their rightful Rs80,000 per student. RTI replies revealed that the IIT Roorkee authorities illegally kept aside Rs20,000 per student meant to be consumed for the student for ‘mentoring’ in any institute during summer/winter. The RTI query also revealed that IIT-Roorkee was not utilising the entire funds meant for disbursing of this scholarship (which it has asked for as per the list of selected scholars) although the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been releasing the funds as per schedule. Therefore, many of them were not getting their scholarship money. Such lethargy is seen in many educational institutions across the country and at the receiving end is the meritorious student.
Let’s see the efforts that RTI Anonymous took to help the IIT Roorkee students to empower them through RTI to take their fight further with the college authorities. Now, they have documentary evidence in their hands.
On 19 January 2012, RTI Anonymous filed a RTI application to Lt Col AK Shrivastava (retd) who is the registrar as well as the public information officer (PIO) of IIT Roorkee. Simultaneously, a RTI application was also submitted to the DST, INSPIRE division.
The first reply that RTI Anonymous received was from DST on 25th February by PIO Dr AK Mukhadhyapay, head of INSPIRE. His replies made it clear that the entire amount of Rs80,000 is meant for the student and that it has been releasing scholarship funds to IIT Roorkee regularly.
Dr Mukhodhyapay provided the following details:
1. The DST-INSPIRE programme transfers funds to the Registrar, IIT Roorkee, for disbursing INSPIRE scholarships to INSPIRE scholars. The office of the Registrar, IIT Roorkee handles INSPIRE
2. Every year after the completion of admission of students, IIT Roorkee provides DST-INSPIRE the list of students who join IIT Roorkee through the IIT-JEEE process in the science courses only like Physics, Chemistry, Maths, etc. Based on the list of students made available by IIT Roorkee to DST-INSPIRE, funds are transferred to IIT-Roorkee for disbursement of scholarships to eligible students.
3. The SHE-INSPIRE scholarship is valued at Rs80,000 annually out of which Rs.60,000 is paid in cash for annual scholarship @ of Rs5,000 per month and Rs20,000 is earmarked as mentorship cost for summer/winter research activities in any institution
4. Funds for IIT Roorkee are granted annually on the basis of Rs80,000 per scholar. IIT Roorkee was never instructed by the DST to retain Rs20,000 provided as mentorship cost
5. During the year December 2008 to December 2011 on financial year basis, 417 scholarships were given. (79 in 2008-09; 117 in 2009-10; 115 in 2010-11; 165 in 2011-12) for eligible students of IIT Roorkee for pursuing Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry
6. During the year 2008-2011, Rs219.14 lakh were disbursed to IIT Roorkee—Rs156.8 lakh in 2008-10; Rs62.6 lakh in 2010-11 (adjusted with unspent balance)
7. There is no pending grant to be released between 2008 and 2011. Hence, in the financial year 2011-12, IIT Roorkee has been asked to utilise the balance amount initially before any fresh release in this year.
States Ritesh Singh, who runs the RTI Anonymous website along with Anand Sharma (residing in the US) and Avnish Singh, “this is the first time, Department of Science and Technology (DST) accepted officially on paper that they are giving Rs80,000 per student to the IITs. DST has also clearly accepted that the IITs haven’t been asked to retain Rs20,000 of each student. It is also well known that the IITs are giving only Rs60,000 per student.”
RTI Anonymous also received a reply from Col Shrivastava, PIO of IIT Roorkee, on 11th April wherein the information revealed under-utilisation of scholarship funds but the student scholars were not given their scholarship dues. Col Shrivastava stated, in his reply, stated that:
• As against Rs94.80 lakh received from DST in 2008-09, only Rs7.20 lakh was given away as scholarship money by IIT Roorkee
• As against Rs62 lakh received from DST in 2009-10, only Rs21 lakh was given away as scholarship money by IIT Roorkee
• As against Rs62.60 lakh received from DST in 2010-11, Rs66 lakh was given away as scholarship money by IIT Roorkee, and in 2011-12, Rs60.90 lakh was given away as scholarship money
• The number of students selected for the scholarships was: 31 in 2008, 38 in 2009, 67 in 2011 and none in 2012.
Armed with this valuable information, the students have taken up the issue strongly with IIT Roorkee. You can do the same for any scholarship you may have been selected for, but have not received.
Sample of RTI to the PIO, IIT Roorkee:
Sub: Application under the Right to Information Act (RTIA), 2005
Provide the following details relating to the distribution of INSPIRE (Innovation for Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) Scholarships in IIT Roorkee since 2008 to till date.
1. Please provide the Name, Branch, Year, Roll number of all the students who are eligible to receive the above mentioned scholarship”. Please tell the amount of the scholarship, which all the above mentioned students should receive.
2. Have the above mentioned students in question 1, already been given the scholarship amount for the year 2011-12 according to your records?
If yes, then provide an attested copy of the related documents/registers which contain the above mentioned details.
3. How many students received the scholarship in the year 2009-2010 and 2010-2011?
Provide an attested copy of the receipt register which contains the signatures of the students.
4. What is the basis on which the distribution of scholarships to the students is decided? Are there any rules and regulations for such scholarship distribution? Provide an attested copy of all related governing orders/directions and laws.
5. What is the total amount of funds allotted by the government for the distribution of scholarships to various students?
6. Has the department made any arrangement/system for fair and just distribution of scholarships to the deserving students? Provide an attested copy of the related documents.
7. If any student has not been given the scholarship during the year 2011-2012, then specify the reason for the same. Provide an attested copy of the related documents.
8. Provide a list of all such students who have not been given the scholarship yet with the following particulars:
• Name of the student
•Enrolment Number
• Father’s name
• Reason for not being given the scholarship
9. Specify the names and designation of the officers responsible for non-payment of scholarships on time. What action will be taken against such officers according to departmental rules and regulations? When will this action be taken?
Also as per the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 please provide the details (Name and Designation) of the first appellate authority with respect to your department with the reply to the above request, where I may if required file my first appeal.
(For more details log on to: http://getup4change.org/rti/9373/)
(Vinita Deshmukh is the editor of Life 365 (www.life365.in). She is also the consulting editor of Moneylife, an RTI activist and convener of the Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting which she won twice in 1998 and 2005, and the Chameli Devi Jain award for outstanding media person for her investigation series on Dow Chemicals. She co-authored the book “To The Last Bullet - The Inspiring Story of A Braveheart - Ashok Kamte” with Vinita Kamte. She can be reached at [email protected])
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At the individual level I have also seen how an IIT Mumbai alumni -Mr Shailesh Gandhi-has performed like an idiot/traitor as an information commissioner, especially when he has been the only RTI activist who got the opportunity to enforce the law! For details please read RTI Act-Shailesh Gandhi and Schopenhauer's Law of Entropy at
http://raviforjustice.blogspot.in/2012/0...