South Asian University Witnesses Mass Drop-outs After Changes in Scholarship Policies

The South Asian University, one of the leading learning centres in the South Asian region, witnessed a dropout of 20 students in the current academic session after the university introduced changes in its scholarship land freeship policy. The students allege that the situation for Indian students and those coming from neighbouring countries became precarious after domestic conditions turned volatile due to the economic crisis, war, and financial uncertainty driven by the pandemic. Currently, the university offers four types of financial aid in the form of scholarships and freeships to its students enrolled in the master's programme; President's Scholarship, SAARC India Silver Jubilee Scholarships for Least Developed Countries (LDCs ), also known as SJS scholarships, SAU Merit Scholarships and Freeships.

President's scholarships are offered to two students in each Master programme: one to the student scoring the highest percentile/Rank in the Entrance Test in the Indian list and the other to the student scoring the highest percentile/Rank in the non-Indian list (SAARC countries other than India).

Similarly, Two SAU Merit Scholarships are offered for each master's programme: one to an Indian student and another to a non-Indian (SAARC countries other than India) student. SAU Merit Scholarships are awarded after the award of President's Scholarship for Indian students and after the award of President's and SJS for Non-Indian students from LDCs based on merit as per the entrance test.

However, SJS scholarships constitute the biggest chunk of financial aid. It is awarded to 75 students and remains largely funded through the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The students allege that the university did not award scholarships to needy students even when original awardees left the university for other options. Similarly, it increased the benchmark for SJS scholarship from CGPA 4.5 to CGPA 6. "Scoring such a high score when leaning is entirely on online mode is very difficult. Electricity Supply and Internet Coverage remains erratic in rural areas," alleged Dineshan, (changed name), studying in LLM course at the university's Delhi campus.

The students went on to emphasise that the crisis amplified after a few students pursuing their master's in sociology dropped out because the university officials could not take timely decisions even when the advertisement for admissions in previous years makes it abundantly clear that it will provide freeships along with monthly stipends to ensure zero dropouts due to financial constraints. An Indian student who requested anonymity said that the changes in scholarship policy came along with non-transparency in procedures in awarding the scholarships.

The student said, "In my understanding, the students who apply for courses take into consideration the freeships offered along with monthly stipend, which covers a part of expenses on the campus. In the current academic session, the university did not offer any financial aid in the beginning. It also asked them to submit a security deposit of Rs 14,500 and a hostel fee worth Rs 8000 when the students were living away from the campus. The university is no longer making a list of awarded scholarships public. Even the students who got scholarships were unaware of it."

Further elaborating on the situation, the student said, "The Indian students coming to campus are from marginalised communities who are often first-generation learners. I have a friend whose father works as a vegetable seller. Post pandemic, the families have been financially wrecked, and employment opportunities have vanished across the South Asian region. The families are even ready to take loans on exorbitant rates of interest to support students' studies. In this situation, if a publicly funded university like SAU does not come forward to help its students, then who will?"

The university students maintain that the administrative crisis is taking a toll on the functioning of the institution and hitting the aspirations of students, who often hail from poverty-stricken and war-torn regions. The students who spoke to NewsClick emphasised the immediate need for fellowships and freeships after the situation in their countries became volatile owing to the economic crisis that resulted in an acute shortage of essential supplies, including cooking gas and milk powder.

A university student from Sri Lanka told NewsClick that the freeships would have allowed students to continue their studies smoothly without worrying about hyperinflation in their home country. The student said, "Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis and paying fees in US dollars is very difficult now. Just to apprise you about my ordeal, I spent Sri Lankan Rs 24,000 to submit a fee of Rs 124000. The conversion charges are so high. When I had inquired about the fee in the first semester, the university officials assured me that the students would get freeship. However, their conduct was ambiguous. They fixed the deadline for submitting the fee till February 28. However, the last date to apply for a freeship is March 11. It simply means that the student will have to first pay the fee, then only they will get any freeships. The officials fail to understand that it may not be this much easy for students like us."

Talking about what led her to choose the university for further studies, she said, "I had conversations with former students of the university who suggested that the university offered a rich and diverse environment to study and learn with students from eight different countries. Additionally, it offers a curriculum at par with other prominent international universities. I came to know about a good number of freeships and scholarships coming to university. It created a legitimate expectation among the aspirants that they would be getting the scholarships. There are very few options to pursue master's in the country. The state universities offer courses in Business Law and Criminology. We also have option to get master's from the UK-based universities who have opened their campuses here but these universities charge an exorbitant fee from students."

She added, "I chose law as my profession precisely because I know the pain and trauma of civil war. Our families and properties were destroyed. I wanted to study international humanitarian laws to let my community get the benefit domestically. I want to know how self-determination works, particularly in cases like Sri Lanka. There is much distress and distrust among Tamil community members. The leaders promised the heavens to the people but did not deliver much relief. If the children from the community are well-read, they could deliver the right information. So, the struggle is much broader. In this context, when I see the conduct of the university, it is very disappointing."

The reduction in the number of scholarships is also affecting students ravaged by war in Afghanistan. A student of the university who requested anonymity told NewsClick over the phone that she could not continue her studies unless she received a freeship for her studies.

She said, "The situation is terrible in Afghanistan. I did not get any scholarship at the time of enrolment. If I do not get freeship, I cannot continue my studies." She elaborated that after the Taliban took over the control of Afghanistan, many people lost their jobs, including three members of her family. "My elder brother was working with a US-based agency, and he lost the job. I, too, lost an NGO job. We mailed the university officials about the precarious financial situation, but we are yet to get any response. At home, the situation is getting worse with each passing day. The Taliban leadership is making our lives terrible by imposing new daily restrictions. Women in this country have already been denied educational and human rights. Half of the Afghan women are illiterate. It is very disappointing that the Afghan students have been left in the lurch without any help by SAU," she said.

A teacher who spoke to NewsClick on the condition of anonymity said that the crisis had its roots in the reduction of funding, guidelines from the Ministry of External Affairs, and the implementation of business plan of the university.

The teacher said, "We are learning that the funding of the university has declined now. Second, the guidelines from MEA suggests that only students scoring marks above CGPA 6 should be awarded freeships in the second semester. We have observed that the students in the university come from diverse backgrounds. For example, the students from Afghanistan are not well versed in English. We were liberal in our approach earlier, where we awarded scholarships to students who scored CGPA 5. We cannot dilute our standards in marking these students." The teacher noted that "the best thing the university and MEA can do is recognise the diversity and problems associated with these students." The teacher said, "The students coming from Bangladesh and Afghanistan cannot be on the same standards of education. Further, the university's business plan suggests that it cannot spend more than 20% in awarding freeships. We proposed that the university look out for options to garner scholarships from the social sector." 

However, the biggest issue remains the appointment of a permanent President who can make policy decisions. The teacher said, "When we approached the caretaker president, he expressed his inability to take any steps. Many of our committees are working in an ad-hoc capacity. As per the SAU charter, It is India's turn to appoint President and the MEA has to take the decision. The primary reason I see over the late appointment is linked with SAARC and it has not met once in the last two years. So, the appointment of permanent President is must to ensure that the university runs smoothly without any hassle."

Rudrendra Tandon, Additional Secretary, BIMSTEC And SAARC division at the Ministry of External Affairs, did not reply to email queries about the delay in the appointment of permanent President.