Shashi Tharoor Requests Rise In Fellowship Amount For Non-NET PhD Research Scholars (image: twitter.com/ShashiTharoor)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday requested the government to consider significant rise in the stipend amount for Non-NET PhD research fellows and during “zero hour” in the Lok Sabha as he talked about their predicament in matters of insufficient resources, inadequate support, and absence of grievance redressal committees.
“I wish to draw the attention of the Education Minister and the chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC) towards the plight of the non-NET PhD research fellows concerning the stipend they have received. . . These are researchers that do not get scholarships through the UGC-NET exam, however, the researchers get a stipend of ₹8,000 per month and a contingency of ₹10,000 per annum for science subjects and ₹8,000 per annum for humanities, social science subjects which has remained the same since 2006,” Congress MP argued.
When in other fellowship programmes revision usually takes place in four years, in the case of Non-NET it is yet to take place. “Normally revision takes place every four years, normally there should have been four upward revisions in the fellowship amounts they have been getting,” Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
Non-NET PhD research fellows get a stipend of Rs. 8,000 a month, which has remained the same since 2006. Normally, revisions to the fellowship amount take place every 4 years.
The research scholars are also facing difficulties due to insufficient resources at their… pic.twitter.com/pCFohxFMpK
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 7, 2023
He stressed that UGC is responsible for ensuring a favourable environment for scholars to conduct research. But the delayed revisions have pressed a financial burden due to the rise in inflation which has “impacted their daily lives” and their “commitment to doing meaningful and impactful research.”
Shashi Tharoor further added that money is only a part of the problem, and research scholars are facing issue concerning insufficient resources and infrastructure in their institutions, inadequate support from their supervisors, and absence of grievance redressal committees. He emphasised that government must address these issues and should ensure disbursements of stipend.
“I urge the minister to to consider hiking significantly the stipend amount of non-NET fellows as their contributions are pivotal in advancing our nations growth in research and development,” Congress MP said in conclusion.
