Amid unrelenting protests by students against the scrapping of the non-NET fellowship by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the government on Wednesday appointed a five-member panel to review the research grants offered by the Commission, which has been asked to continue all existing grants.
The government reiterated that it has directed the UGC not to implement the decision to discontinue the non-NET fellowships. The students, who have been protesting since last eight days, termed the government’s notification an “eyewash” and said they will continue with their agitation till the “review” is done.
“In order to encourage and expand quality research in diverse fields, the Central Government has constituted a five-member review committee to go into the issues related to the research fellowships provided by UGC. The panel will submit its report to the HRD Ministry by December, 2015,” an official notification said.
“The Central Government has directed the UGC not to implement the Commission’s decision to discontinue the non-NET fellowships and continue all existing fellowships,” it added.