Jadavpur University has rejected a demand from students that the university authorities not verify the credentials they submitted while applying for a state government scholarship.

First and second-year engineering students gheraoed the officiating VC overnight, for 24 hours from 1.30pm on Monday to Tuesday to press their demand.

At JU, the university administration usually capitulates before students who mount pressure by confining the VC, pro-VC, and other officials to extract their demands.

It did not happen this time.

The latest unrest at JU started when the university decided to verify the credentials uploaded by the students while applying for the Swami Vivekananda merit-cum-means scholarship offered by the state higher education department.

The Mamata Banerjee government launched the scholarship to assist meritorious students from economically backward families who choose to pursue higher education.

Students pursuing BTech get ₹1,500 each month during the four years of the course.

The eligibility criteria state the total family income for the prospective scholars will not be more than ₹2.5 lakh a year.

It also states that since it is a merit-cum-means scholarship students have to pass each semester examination, without supplementary exam, and upload the marks on the portal of the scholarship.

A JU official said the problem started when it emerged that two JU students, who could not clear the semester examinations, fudged the records and uploaded tampered grade cards on the portal while seeking a renewal of the scholarship.

Since the time of Covid-19, students at the university have been issued soft copies of grade cards, and the students coming under the ambit of the scholarship are required to upload the details of the CGPA (cumulative grade point average) on the portal.

While there was a delay in clearing the scholarship amount, the two students, accused of tampering with their grade cards, complained to the chief minister’s office alleging that they were being denied the scholarship, said a JU official.

“The CMO told the department to process the records and clear the scholarship. When the department contacted the university to check the records of these two students, it emerged that the duo submitted doctored records. When this was communicated, the department told the university that henceforth JU must verify the records submitted by all students, and the scholarships would be granted after the verification,” said a JU official.

This decision infuriated the students who confined the VC, pro-VC, other officials and the heads of departments, demanding that no verification would be allowed and the credentials submitted by the students have to be endorsed by the university.

“The two students — a boy and a girl — who were summoned to Bikash Bhavan (the education department headquarters) a fortnight ago admitted that they had fudged records following the advice of senior students. This means the malpractice has been going on for some time,” said a senior JU official.

JU has found out that altogether 42 students stand accused of tampering their records.

Bhaskar Gupta, the JU interim VC, told The Telegraph: “We left it to students to submit the records to avail of the scholarship. But they have broken our trust by submitting tampered records. The university will now verify the records thoroughly before the details are uploaded on the scholarship portal. The university cannot and will not accept any illegitimate demands.”

Selim Box Mandal, a member of the examination board and a JU professor said: “The board has unanimously endorsed the stand of the VC. The board has resolved that disciplinary action be taken against the students who dared to confine the VC over an illegitimate demand.”