The research scholars with fellowships at Panjab University may soon get 'special rooms' on the campus.The university is planning to refurbish some rooms in every hostel and earmark them for the research scholars with fellowships only. However, for these rooms the research scholars will be charged between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 per month.
Dean, Student Welfare (DSW), Navdeep Goyal, said the university had held a meeting over the issue and was being deliberated upon. "We will consult top officials to fine-tune the proposal again and it will soon be put before syndicate for final approval," he said.
Another top official said: "Research scholars with fellowships get Rs 4,000 as house rent allowance (HRA) as part of the fellowship. But they pay the same amount (around between Rs700 and Rs1,000) as paid by other students to the university per month. Rest of the HRA money remains unspent and is not claimed from the funding agency. If we get special rooms for the research scholars, they will get more facilities and the university, in turn, will get more funds from the grants, which otherwise, remain unspent."
Of total 1,500 research scholars, nearly 400 with fellowships from different government agencies have been put up in the university hostels. The PU has 18 hostels (nine for girls, eight for boys and one for working women hostel).
{{/usCountry}}Of total 1,500 research scholars, nearly 400 with fellowships from different government agencies have been put up in the university hostels. The PU has 18 hostels (nine for girls, eight for boys and one for working women hostel).
{{/usCountry}}"In each hostel, special rooms will be created out of the existing ones with more facilities. The facilities such as television sets, refrigerators and study cabins, which are not otherwise allowed in the hostels, will be provided in these rooms," an official said, adding that the university could think of providing AC rooms as well. But final decision about the facilities was yet to be taken. Currently, common room in all hostels has provisions of LCD TV and music systems. The officials said the research scholars could also be allowed to keep iron.