Thousands of students belonging to other backward classes (OBCs) who are pursuing medical courses in the State have been waiting for their scholarship from the government for the last two years.
Students who are studying in the third and fourth year MBBS course alleged that the Department of Backward Classes has not released the scholarship for the second and third year and had closed the application portal for the current year even before the results were announced by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences.
The students will be staging a protest on Thursday against the government to demand the release of the scholarship and to reopen the application portal for the current year.
According to students, the government has to reimburse the fees paid by OBC students through scholarships and the amount ranges between ₹60,000 and ₹80,000 per student.
“For the last two years, all scholarships for OBC students have been denied by the government citing various reasons. Attempts by the students to approach the department were not fruitful. Around 2,000 students are waiting for the scholarship. If we don’t get it now, there are fewer chances of the government paying us after the completion of the course,” said Kalyan R., a final-year MBBS student.
