Research Scholars demand more financial support

Despite few measures taken by higher education bodies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to increase fellowship money to encourage research scholars, the ones who are receiving it are not completely satisfied.

The key objective of the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)-National Eligibility Test (NET) is to identify, through this competitive examination, those talented students who could be enrolled for Ph.D. programmes in specific science domains, across India’s scientific and academic institutions and also to identify those who meet the eligibility criteria for employment as lecturers across various institutions.

Currently, non-NET fellows get monthly grants of Rs 5,000 (for the first two years) and 8,000 (for the next three years). Research students demand that this should be further increased to 10,000 (for the first two years) and 16,000 (for the next three years).

Ravi Ranjan Choudhary, senior research fellow, Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has been actively campaigning for the increase in the non-NET fellowship amount, says, “The non-NET fellowship is a scheme for financial support for bright research scholars, those who pursue research at Central universities and those who fail to avail fellowships from government sources (such as the Junior Research fellowship (JRF) by the UGC/Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship etc) and others. The increase in amount of non-NET fellowship is a relevant demand considering that the last hike was in 2009. The respective establishments must keep in mind that most of these scholars are from humble socio-economic backgrounds. Pursuing research with limited grants poses a huge challenge for research scholars in Central universities.”

The hike in the non-NET research fellowships is demanded by scholars from all disciplines, including science and humanities. At present, students in the science stream get 5,000 a month plus 10,000 as contingency annually while the contingency amount is 8,000 for humanities students. For PhD students, the contingency amount is the same as that of M.Phil students, but the monthly emolument is 8,000.

The protesting students also met HRD minister Smriti Irani demanding an increase in JRF and senior research fellowship (SRF). As a result, JRF was increased to 25,000 and SRF to 28,000. Earlier, it was 16,000 and 18,000. However, research scholars feel that this hike has not been implemented smoothly. Different funding agencies are implementing the hike from different dates resulting in poor coordination between them.

Another demand is for timely and regular disbursal of fellowships, which should be extended till the last year of PhD. Students say that the current amount disbursed through the fellowships is insufficient as they have to spend more money on accommodation, subscribing to journals, magazines, books, newspapers and the Internet. Research scholars from across the country have protested a number of times outside the UGC and CSIR headquarters and demanded more grants.

Also, there is an urgent need to motivate research scholars in the field of social science and humanities and one way is through research grants offered by bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Academicians from Delhi University feel that scholars have to pursue research in the same social and economic environment and cater to all the necessary requirements towards PhD degree as JRFs. They are shortlisted on the basis of their performance in the entrance test conducted by the university. Hence, their demands and needs cannot be put under the desk.

Meanwhile, research scholars from across the country have protested outside the UGC and CSIR headquarters and demanded more grants.

Source: HT Education