Students protests against MU in OBC scholarship row

Several students pursuing MSc Computer Science at Mumbai University protested at the Kalina campus, on Tueaday, for being asked to pay the fee for the two-year course at once after initially being informed that they were eligible for a scholarship.

At least 10 students from the Other Backward Class (OBC) category have been asked to pay Rs 70,000 failing which their results would be withheld.

These students were admitted by the university in 2016 by paying Rs 500 for admission after being told that they were eligible for scholarship from Social Welfare Department for OBC students.

However, in October 2016, they received a shock when university officials asked them to pay the fee stating that the scheme ended in 2014. "The university wrongly assured us a scholarship. Most of us are from a poor background and cannot pay the fee all at once," a student said.

After not receiving a satisfactory response from university officials, they decided to protest.

"We have requested Vice Chancellor Dr Sanjay Deshmukh to write to the Social Welfare Department to restart the scholarship. Meanwhile, the university should release our results and give us more time to pay as the amount is big," said another student.

Despite repeated calls, MU VC Sanjay Deshmukh could not be reached for a comment.