Ahmedabad: Students from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category and associations have approached the state tribal development department over the govt’s Oct 2024 notification making students admitted to unfilled management quota seats ineligible for scholarships.
The notification states that financial assistance will be available only to those who have enrolled through the regular admission committee on govt quota and not those securing vacant management quota seats.
Sources said the enrolment process had finished before the govt announcement. Hence, students were unaware of it and educational institutions had not collected fees for one term, expecting govt funding. The policy, sources said, posed difficulties for students currently registered in various courses, including diploma, degree engineering, pharmacy, nursing and physiotherapy.
ST students and associations have appealed that since the govt notification came into effect late in the academic calendar, students who enrolled without awareness about it should receive entitlements for the present year.
Although institutions have not collected initial term fees, there is apprehension regarding fee requirements for the next term. Without official intervention, about 50,000 students could face the choice between paying fees or discontinuing their education, the sources said.