UGC assures disbursement of fellowships, extension of deadline for claiming dues: JNUSU

NEW DELHI: Following the mass delegation led by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), the University Grants Commission (UGC) assured that the fellowships will be disbursed and the deadline for claiming pending arrears will be extended beyond October 8. The commission acknowledged the delays in the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and non-National Eligibility Test (NET) fellowships, JNUSU claimed.

The students’ union organized a mass delegation to the UGC today to address ongoing issues regarding the disbursement of fellowships. The students’ body met with the joint secretary of the UGC and highlighted that JRF scholars have not received their fellowships since May, despite them being listed as generated in the SMFP portal. Additionally, many students have not received their non-NET fellowships for several months, it alleged.

JNUSU requested an extension of the deadline for claiming pending arrears until August 2024, as the current deadline is October 8.

“UGC responded that the arrears claimed in the 1st to 8th August window will be disbursed in the current cycle, within a couple of days along with the previous month generated fellowship. For those claimed in the month of September, the current month fellowship will be disbursed,” stated JNUSU.

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Regarding the non-NET fellowships, the UGC stated that this issue falls under university-level management. Additionally, UGC assured JNUSU that the deadline for claiming pending arrears, currently set for October 8, 2024, will be extended, the students further claimed.