The Social Welfare Department allocated ₹20 crore in the first quarter of this year’s budget to reimburse fees for these students, yet the funds have not reached them.
One year after the Karnataka government ordered refunds of tuition fees for Scheduled Caste students admitted to engineering, medical and other professional courses under management and NRI quotas, no beneficiary has received any payment.
The Social Welfare Department released ₹20 crore recently from the current budget, but the money remains undistributed. Some students and parents claim the grant has been diverted to other uses.
A parent from Vijayapura district said his son secured a management quota seat at Ambedkar Medical College in Bengaluru last year for ₹12 lakh. After taking a bank loan to pay, the family has received no reimbursement despite the government’s promise. Additional loans were needed for the second-year fees, and repeated requests to officials have gone unanswered.
Under the scheme, the department refunds fees for SC students from families earning up to ₹2.50 lakh annually who hold government seats. For those with incomes between ₹2.50 lakh and ₹10 lakh, support comes from Medical Education and Technical Education departments through the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan.
An order issued on May 9 last year extended full refunds to SC students with family incomes up to ₹10 lakh who secured management or NRI quota seats in private colleges. The measure has not been implemented.
The current budget earmarked ₹80 crore for the first quarter under SCP/TSP programmes covering management and NRI quota reimbursements, hostel costs and other expenses. Of this, ₹20 crore was released.
Students allege the released funds were spent on hostel materials instead of fee refunds.
Venugopal Maurya, state convener of the Democratic Dalith Student Federation, warned that protests would begin if the department fails to refund the fees immediately.
The Commissioner of the Social Welfare Department was unavailable for comment.
