MUMBAI: Hundreds of students from Maharashtra who have secured admission to universities in the United Kingdom under various state government scholarship schemes are facing uncertainty after a change in UK immigration rules. The new policy issued by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) states that only funding from national or federal governments will be accepted as official financial sponsorship for student visa applications. Financial support from state or regional governments, including the Maharashtra government, will no longer be accepted for this purpose.
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The organisation has written to the chief minister’s office and several departments, including the social justice department, tribal development department, minority development department, other backward bahujan welfare department and the directorate of technical education, requesting immediate intervention.
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Apart from the visa issue, The Platform has also highlighted that the maintenance allowance given to students is not enough to meet the latest UK immigration requirements. At present, Maharashtra provides an annual maintenance allowance of £9,900 ( ₹12,84,913) for students going to the UK. However, under the latest UK rules, students must show access to at least £13,761 ( ₹17,86,058) for a nine-month course in high-cost cities such as London. The organisation said that students going to the United States and Australia were also facing financial difficulties because of rising living costs.
To solve the problem, The Platform has suggested three measures. It has asked the state government to coordinate with the union ministry of external affairs or the ministry of education so that scholarship funds can be supported through a national-level endorsement. It has also demanded an increase in the maintenance allowance to match current international living costs and called for all scholarship approvals and fund releases to be completed by May or June every year to avoid delays during the visa process.
“This is purely a technical and administrative gridlock that the Maharashtra government must resolve immediately,” said Rajiv Khobragade, member of The Platform. “Failure to act in time will not only affect the academic future of Maharashtra’s brightest students but will also damage the state’s international reputation. The government must find a legal solution without delay.”
Senior officers of the respective departments said they are not aware about the changes abd that they will study the changes and take measures accordingly.
The state government introduced the scholarship in 2018, with the support of which eligible students could complete their studies in a foreign university or institution ranked in the Top 200 of the QS World University Rankings.
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The new rule has affected students from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes (OBC), VJNT, SBC, minority communities, and general category scholarship schemes run by different departments of the state government. According to the representation submitted by The Platform, a Nagpur-based socio-legal organisation, students who have already received scholarship approval letters now face the risk of their visas being rejected.
