More DU Colleges come forward to help students in distress amid Covid-19 pandemic

After St Stephen’s College set up a Covid-19 Resilience Fund to support tuition fees of underprivileged pupils, a few other colleges and their alumni associations in Delhi University (DU) have stepped up measures to help students facing financial constraints due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After St Stephen’s College set up a Covid-19 Resilience Fund to support tuition fees of underprivileged pupils, a few other colleges and their alumni associations in Delhi University (DU) have stepped up measures to help students facing financial constraints due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

St Stephen’s College

The Old Students Association (OSA) of Hindu College has decided to help students facing challenges in paying their fees.

In a statement issued on Friday, Ravi Burman, president of the association said, “The pandemic has created major problems for students from the economically weaker sections and they are facing a huge challenge in paying the college annual fees. The Old Students Association (OSA), Hindu College, has decided to help such students, whose family annual income is below ₹5 lakh, with a one-time study grant to cover their annual college fees up to rupees twenty thousand only.”

Earlier on November 24, St Stephen’s had announced a fund to support tuition fees of 50-100 students facing financial constraints due to the pandemic and urged present students and alumni to donate for the cause.

There have been demands for financial support to students from economically weaker families across DU colleges in the wake of the recent death by suicide of a student of Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) due to financial distress and the pressure of online education earlier this month.

Hindu College Principal Anju Srivastava issued a statement saying, “All donations intended for the benefit of the students of the College or any other activity or purpose in the College should be through cheques in the name of the Principal, Hindu College, Delhi and sent to the College Office.The College channelises all such assistance through its Students Aid Fund committee.”

“The college invites applications from needy students and, on the basis of complete data made available by individual students to the College, takes informed and considered decisions to help all the needy students taking into account the total funds available for this purpose. It goes without saying that with additional funds, the College would be able to meet the financial need of a larger number of applicants,” the statement read.

Janaki Devi Memorial College started helping some students in distress with unutilised students’ fees from the last academic session. Principal Swati Pal said the college has a robust system to help students from economically weaker sections.

“The number of students who need help has increased this year due to the pandemic. So, the college felt the need to increase the amount we generally use to give fee waiver to students every year. We decided to use some amount of money collected as students’ fees last year and lying unutilised for the purpose. It is students’ money and should only be used to help students. So, around ₹3 lakh has been added to our students’ assistance fund. Now, the amount we usually give to students has substantially increased,” she said.

Rajdhani College has also come up with the initiative named “uthhan”, under which it sends study material through speed post to students who are unable able to access online education. The college has so far helped over 350 students living in different parts of the country.