Mumbai: MBBS Students Deprived of Scholarships at Thackeray Medical College

Mumbai, 27th July 2023: The Hindu Hridayasamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College, under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, has come under scrutiny for its chaotic administration, resulting in the deprivation of scholarships for backward and economically disadvantaged students pursuing MBBS in the academic year 2019-20. A last-minute fee payment notice, released just four days before the scholarship deadline, left many students unable to complete their scholarship applications on MahaDBT due to financial constraints. As a result, approximately 70 to 80 students have been denied scholarships.

The issue arose on February 26, 2020, when the college administration issued a notice demanding fee payment from second-year MBBS students for the academic year 2019-20, with a deadline set for March 11, 2020.

Backward and economically disadvantaged students were also required to apply for scholarships on the MahaDBT website before February 29, for which a fee payment was necessary. However, students faced difficulties in arranging immediate funds to pay the annual fee after the notice was issued. Additionally, the process of withdrawing Demand Drafts (DD) from banks and submitting the scholarship applications on MahaDBT by February 29 became challenging. Consequently, despite paying their college fees before March 19, nearly 70-80 students were
denied scholarships.

The COVID-19 pandemic further complicated matters, leading to layoffs and the closure of offices and colleges. Students were unable to apply for scholarships during this time, and despite their repeated inquiries to the college and social welfare department, they received no resolution. Even though these students paid their fees on time, they were unfairly deprived of scholarships. The college administration has now demanded the students to repay the fees along with a penalty amount, warning that they will not receive their educational documents unless the dues are cleared.

In response to this distressing situation, the Shiv Sena has taken notice and submitted a letter to MP Srikant Shinde, urging the social welfare department to address the students’ scholarship issue offline. The Shiv Sena Secretary Siddesh Kadam, former Senate member Adv. Vaibhav Thorat, and Omkar Chavan are advocating for a prompt resolution to ensure the students’ rights are upheld.