PG scholarship: AICTE seeks info on students leaving course midway

To ensure the development of technical education, full-time GATE/GPAT qualified students admitted to AICTE-approved post-graduate programmes in approved institutions and university departments are paid Rs 12,400 per month as PG scholarship.

The scholarship is tenable for 24 months or for the duration of the course from the date of commencement to the date of completion of the classes, whichever is lower, and is not extendable under any circumstances.

In a circular to the higher education institutions affiliated to it, the AICTE said it has been noticed that some of the institutions were not providing timely information of the beneficiaries of the scholarship programme who left the course midway.

Due to the non-availability of data on such students in time, the fellowship is released uninterrupted, which was not authorised, the council said, and directed the institutions to furnish data in time on the exact status of those scholars who left the course mid-way.

It also asked the institutions to upload the students’ information along with the marked text as “Left the Course” in the AICTE PG scholarship portal.

Acknowledging that some colleges were occasionally facing problems in accessing the AICTE portal, the council said such institutions could send all details on the letterhead of the institute through email.

The council added in the circular that scholarship would be granted to the student every month subject to satisfactory academic performance and adherence to university and institute norms and regulations as applicable from time to time, certified by the head of the institute.

Foreign students, sponsored candidates and candidates admitted in PG programmes through management quota are not eligible for the scholarship.