Around 80 Ph.D. scholars and M.Phil. researchers from the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Category-I communities, who receive funding under the Union government’s Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) scheme, have raised concerns over Bangalore University directing them to pay the same annual fees as General Merit (GM) category students, according to a recently issued official fee notification.
While the students have recently written to Vice-Chancellor C. Shivaraju asking him to cancel the fee notification and issue a new one, the university said that the matter has been placed before the Fee Review Committee and will soon decide on the issue.
JRF is a premier government-funded programme that provides financial assistance to meritorious candidates pursuing full-time Ph.D. and M.Phil. research. Students aspiring to get JRF write the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam and qualify in the merit list to get financial assistance or funds from the Centre.
At present, the Centre provides a monthly stipend of ₹37,000 for the first two years (as a JRF) and ₹42,000 per month for the remaining period for a total tenure of up to five years.
A Ph.D. student from the Department of Arts and Humanities, Bangalore University, who spoke to The Hindu, said, “There is a fee slab set separately for SC/ST and Category-1 students, Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and the General Merit (GM) category students. The fee varies for students of various caste categories; however, Bangalore University has set the same fee slab for SC, ST, and GM students with no logic except that the students are getting more than ₹40,000 per month from the Centre.”
The student further explained, “In the fee notification issued by the Exam Evaluation Department for the year 2026–27, the rules have been changed, and JRF researchers belonging to ST, SC, and Category-1 communities are directed to pay ₹43,117 for the first year in the Arts and Commerce stream and ₹55,388 in the Science stream. It is the same as the GM student fee. Likewise, the fee amount changes accordingly for students in the second, third, fourth, and fifth years.”
Elaborating on the exact fee they are supposed to pay, the student said, “An SC/ST Ph.D. student in the first year in the Arts and Commerce stream must pay ₹28,090, ₹6,150 for the second, third, and fourth years, and ₹12,592 for the fifth year. Similarly, a Science background student must pay ₹34,226 in the first year, ₹12,286 in the second year, and ₹18,728 in the fifth year. It includes our tuition fee, internet fee, library fee, and others.”
Another student, who is in the second year, said, “We qualify for the fellowship after clearing UGC-NET exams, and the funds are given on the basis of merit. There are many SC/ST students who come from a weak socio-economic background and cannot afford to pay the same amount as GM category students. If we have to pay the same fee, then why do we have to qualify for exams under the SC and ST categories? It is a clear violation of the basic intention of social justice under Articles 15(4) and 46 of the Constitution.”
A fifth-year student said, “According to the notification, there is an extreme disparity in tuition fees and thesis evaluation fees for SC, ST, and GM category students. As per the notification, while the annual tuition fee for general SC/ST candidates is ₹3,221, it is ₹18,248 for GM students. The Valuation of Ph.D. Thesis & Postal Charges fee, charged at the stage of Ph.D. thesis submission, is ₹3,221 for SC/ST candidates, while it has been ordered to charge ₹28,617, equal to what GM students pay. It is administratively unreasonable and exploitative to charge ten times more in the evaluation fee just because a student gets fellowship funds.”
The students also alleged that the University has misunderstood the rules of UGC contingency fund. They said that the annual contingency grant provided by the UGC is a grant reserved only for research work, field work, books, chemicals, and computer equipment. It has nowhere made it mandatory for universities to fully cover their huge tuition fees and assessment fees from this grant.
“The inclusion of researchers from the constitutionally reserved category in the general category fee list on the sole grounds that contingency funds are available is completely discriminatory,” a student said.
Further, the students have demanded that the Finance Department should be directed to refund the excess amount to SC/ST and Other Backward Classes researchers who have already paid the revised additional fee or to make an adjustment to the next year’s fee.
However, Prof. C. Shivaraju, Vice-Chancellor, Bangalore University, said, “I am aware of the issue, and I have accepted the letter from JRF fellowship students. The issue has been placed before the Fee Review Committee of the university. Soon, we will be adding these students to the usual fee slab that the SC/ST and Category-1 students are supposed to pay. This was not decided during my tenure since I have been recently appointed.”
Mr. Shivaraju also clarified that there is no change in the policy of the Central Government regarding the JRF fellowship. “The decision was taken during the tenure of the former Vice-Chancellor. An internal audit committee of the university had questioned the university administration stating why the students are paying ₹6,000 per year while they are receiving ₹47,000 per month as fellowship amount from the Central Government. Hence, the university had decided to direct them to pay the same amount as General category students,” he said.