Srinagar, Oct 29: In a major concern, hundreds of students from J&K are at a crossroads in different states of India after being sent for higher education in the name of scholarship by some non-governmental organizations.
 For the past two months, Greater Kashmir has been receiving scores of emails and telephone calls from J&K students studying outside, that the institutions they were allotted under the scholarship programmes were “not up to the mark” and also lacked facilities.
 The students allege that the institutions lack proper accommodation facilities and the food provided therein is “substandard.” “We are at a hostel in one of the colleges in Jaipur. We are provided substandard food here. There are no free books. The accommodation facility is not up to the mark. There is nobody to listen to us. We feel cheated in the name of scholarship,” writes a complainant.
 A few non-governmental organizations have, of late, been luring students from JK to go for higher education by offering “lucrative” scholarship incentives. However, according to the students who have opted for different scholarships, there is “nothing lucrative about it.”
 Some of the students were selected for B Sc Nursing, BBA and B Tech courses outside the state by an NGO. “After we passed class 12th, the NGO offered us the scholarship at prominent colleges outside. We opted with the hope to get better education along with the scholarship incentive. But the colleges we were allotted were poor by academic standards and lacked proper accommodation facility,” said Adil Ahmad, aggrieved student.
 Students selected for B Tech and BBA courses in Haryana said they were suffering with regard to basic facilities. The candidates expressed dismay over the ‘scholarship programme’, saying: “We were selected for a college in Haryana. We reached here three days back and since then we are suffering on every front. We do not have any hostel facility. Instead of hostels we have been put in as paying guests. There is no electricity, water and washroom facility there.”
 When contacted, Commissioner/Secretary Higher Education J&K Gazzanfer Hussain said no NGO was authorized to send students outside the state for higher education under scholarship schemes. “In fact even the state government does not have mandate to do so,” he said. “This is a serious problem. Actually candidates must not apply through such channels. People have to be cautious and don’t fall in the trap of such unauthorized agencies.”
 Asked how the students can benefit from Center’s scholarship schemes, he said: “Candidates have to directly apply to ministry of HRD for getting benefits of the programme.”

Lastupdate on : Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 30 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST