Hyderabad: Field research is not possible for the Scheduled Caste students by 2016 batch pursuing their PhD as the fellowship amount has not been released by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
There are more than 2,000 such students in the state who have not got their fellowship, and as a result have not been able to carry out research in subjects they have opted for.
Osmania University SC students, ABVP and the Left parties carried out a rally and a protest meet in the campus demanding that the UGC must release the grants immediately.
Mr Dupakka Naresh, an OU student, stated that the central and state universities have not got the fellowship amount since 2016 and therefore research works were not being carried out.
The students who have enrolled for Ph.D are from rural areas and poor background which is making it difficult for them to go out on the field and carry out the research. Thus the batch of 2016 will be forced to opt for an extension if the money is not released by the central government to them.
The students state that only the SC category of students have been affected while other categories have got the amount that was released.
