ITANAGAR, 9 Jul: A group of students, led by activist Charpo Taffo, staged a protest outside the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education (DHTE) here on Thursday, demanding immediate release of pending scholarship funds.
As part of their agitation, the protesters locked the main gate of the directorate, alleging prolonged delay in the disbursement of scholarship.
The protesting students claimed that, despite repeated appeals and representations, the department concerned has failed to release the scholarship amounts, leaving many beneficiaries in financial distress and affecting their academic pursuits.
Addressing the gathering, former student leader Charpo Taffo questioned the department’s priorities, saying, “If corruption-related money can be released so easily, why can’t scholarships meant for deserving students be released on time?”
Taffo further stated that the students had earlier served the department a 15-day ultimatum to release the pending scholarship amounts. However, he alleged that more than 20 days have passed without any concrete action from the authorities.
Warning of intensified agitation, the protesters said they would be compelled to launch stronger democratic protests if the scholarship issue remains unresolved.
The students appealed to the state government and the DHTE to expedite the release of the pending scholarship funds, stating that the delay is placing unnecessary financial burden on students from economically weaker backgrounds.
No official response from the DHTE was available at the time of filing this report.
