Hyderabad, Feb. 21: In an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) Students’ Union has voiced its concern over the Centre slashing education budget for minorities and discontinuing various scholarship schemes, calling it clear discrimination.
The Students’ Union released the open letter on Tuesday on the occasion of the virtual inauguration of the newly constructed School of Commerce and Management building at Maulana Azad National Urdu University’s Hyderabad Campus and the Polytechnic Building at MANUU Cuttack Campus, Odisha, by the Prime Minister.
The Students’ Union mentioned that the Ministry of Minority Affairs was reduced by 38% for the financial year 2023-24. The budget estimate for the Ministry was ₹5,020.50 crore in 2022-23 but this time the Ministry has been allotted ₹3,097 crore. The total allocation of the budget for education empowerment for minorities which was ₹2,515 crore last year is reduced to ₹1,689 crore this year.
It said the budget for research schemes for minorities too has been slashed to ₹20 crore from ₹41 crore last year. The total funds for various skill development and livelihood schemes were ₹491 crore in 2022-23 and the same is ₹64.40 crore this year. In a massive fund cut, the education scheme for Madrasas and Minorities has been allocated ₹10 crore for the financial year 2023-24. The same is 93% less than the budget allocation of 2022-23, which was ₹160 crore.
“Also, discontinuing pre-matric scholarships for students belonging to the SC, ST, OBC, and minority communities in classes 1 to 8 is deeply distressing. The MANUU Students’ Union vehemently registers its protest against the massive reduction of the budget allocated for the education of minorities in India,” reads the letter signed by Students’ Union president Mateen Ashraf.
It condemned the discontinuation of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), a scholarship program for students from minority communities initiated during the UPA government in line with the Sachar Committee recommendations.
“While previous incidents highlighted implementation issues, including delays in scholarship disbursement, the Central Government, under your leadership, opted to terminate the scheme rather than addressing these discrepancies. This decision is perceived as a significant setback for students from minority communities, particularly Muslims, who heavily relied on this scholarship to pursue higher studies,” the MANUU Students’ Union said while urging the PM to reinstate the MANF, ensuring continued support for the educational aspirations of minority students.
The Union also highlighted the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) issue and the plight of over 1800 students at MANUU as the institution has been red-flagged on the National Scholarship Portal, preventing students from applying for the MoMA scholarship scheme. Last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against unidentified nodal officers of 830 institutes and unknown bank officials for alleged fraud in implementing the Centre’s scholarship schemes for minority communities. The Ministry of Minority Affairs, which oversees the scholarship schemes, filed the complaint. The case, centered on fraud allegations, encompasses scholarship programs for pre/post-matric students and merit-cum-means scholarships for individuals from six minority communities, namely Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis. These scholarships are offered in over 1.8 lakh institutions.
“Characterizing a Central University as fake, red-flagged, and consequently debarring thousands of students from accessing and applying for scholarships is perceived as an act of discrimination against minority communities. The closure of the portal since November 2022 has further exacerbated the situation, with no minority institution student being able to apply for the MoMA scholarship during this period,” the Students’ Union wrote.
It urged the Union Government to increase the stipend amount for non-NET research scholars. Currently, non-NET PhD research fellows receive a stipend of ₹8,000 a month, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2006. Despite the customary practice of revising fellowship amounts every four years, no adjustments have been made since 2006, spanning four consecutive cycles.
