Bengaluru: The row over scholarship issue of SC/ST research scholars of University of Mysore (UoM), who are on a sit-in indefinite stir  for the past few weeks in front of Crawford Hall, the UoM’s administrative building in Mysuru, has ended with the intervention of Urban Development Minister Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah. 

The issue was resolved at a high-level meeting chaired by Dr. Yathindra at his official residence ‘Kaveri’ in the State capital on Friday. 

During the meeting, the Minister brought the concerns and demands of research scholars to the attention of senior officials and directed them to resolve the issue without any further delay.  

He also instructed the officials to ensure that all 116 candidates who had qualified in the entrance exam are granted admission. 

However, UoM Vice-Chancellor Prof. N.K. Lokanath explained that following the bifurcation of Mandya and Chamarajanagar into separate Universities, UoM is facing financial constraints and is therefore unable to bear the entire scholarship burden for all eligible research scholars. 

To resolve the issue, Dr. Yathindra proposed a practical and mutually acceptable solution. He directed the authorities to arrive at a joint arrangement under which scholarships for 58 students would be provided by the Social Welfare Department, while the UoM would extend scholarship support to the remaining 58 research students. Later, officials from both the Higher Education Department and Social Welfare Department responded positively to the proposal.  

The Minister also advised rational allocation of research guides to students. 

Higher Education Department Secretary Tulasi Maddineni, Social Welfare Department Principal Secretary Mohan Raj and other senior officials were present.