Context: In the past few years, the Centre has discontinued two key educational schemes for religious minorities, narrowed the scope of another and gradually cut down on the expenditure incurred on multiple programmes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Importance of Scholarships for Religious Minorities

• India is home to over 30 crore (20%) people from religious minority communities. These include six religions notified under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Among them, Muslims make up the largest religious minority but face challenges in various sectors. 
• Their participation in salaried jobs is low and many are engaged in the informal sector, characterised by low wages, weak social security and poor working conditions. The Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee was constituted by the UPA government to look into the social, economic and educational standing of Muslims in India. In a comprehensive 400-page report tabled in Parliament in 2006, the Sachar Committee concluded that the Muslim minority was neglected in almost all dimensions of development. “By and large, Muslims rank somewhat above SC/ST but below Hindu OBCs [Other Backward Classes], Other Minorities and Hindu General [mostly upper castes] in almost all indicators considered,” the report stated. 
• Around the same time, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government accepted the long-pending demand for a Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2006. The new Ministry was to “ensure a more focused approach” on issues affecting the notified minorities, especially “educational empowerment, economic empowerment, infrastructure development and special needs.”
• Directive Principles of State Policy require the state to ensure the welfare of the citizens, for example, Article 38 requires the state to minimise the inequalities in terms of income, status, facilities and opportunities.
• To achieve the objectives of the slogan sabka sath sabka vikas it is necessary to equal opportunity for quality education to sections of the society.
• Access to quality education for sections of society is crucial to realise the objectives of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
• We are aspiring to become a developed nation by 2047, inclusive development is the only way to achieve this aspiration.

Some of the Scholarships for Minority 

The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme-  One of the first central sector programmes implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The scholarship was initially awarded to minority students from class 1 to 10 and ranged between ₹1,000 and ₹10,700 for each selected candidate. The scheme has now been discontinued for classes 1 to 8, only covering classes 9 and 10 in its revised form. 

The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme- for students of class 11 and above (till Ph.D). It aimed to give minority students access to quality higher education, with a scholarship ranging between ₹2,300 and ₹15,000. The funds for this scheme increased from ₹515 crore to ₹1,065 crore this fiscal year. 

The Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Scheme- targeted professional and technical courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Eligible candidates in any of the 85 institutes listed under the scheme are reimbursed full course fees, while those in other institutions are reimbursed course fees worth ₹20,000 per annum. The scholarship scheme saw a major reduction in funds in 2023-24. It was allotted ₹44 crore this year, while last year’s allotment was ₹365 crore. 

Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF)-The scheme provided financial assistance for five years to research scholars pursuing an M.Phil and PhD from institutions recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Under the scheme, junior research fellows received a grant of ₹31,000 for the first two years while senior research fellows got ₹35,000 per month for the remaining tenure. The MANF benefited over 6,700 candidates between 2014-15 and 2021-22, with ₹738.85 crore paid before it was cancelled in 2022. 

The Padho Pardesh scheme was launched to provide better opportunities for higher education abroad, providing an interest subsidy on education loans for overseas studies to students belonging to economically weaker sections of minority communities. However, this scheme was discontinued from 2022-23. The scheme benefited 20,365 beneficiaries since its inception in 2006. 

The Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship was for meritorious girls to pursue higher secondary education and was provided by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF). The scholarship has had zero allocation this year. 

The Naya Savera was a separate programme launched to provide free coaching to minority students for entrance to technical and professional courses and competitive examinations. In the Union Budget 2023-24, the scheme was allotted ₹30 crore but the Centre has since discontinued the scheme stating that the New Education Policy 2020 does not support coaching programmes. Official records show that 1.19 lakh students benefited under the scheme. 

The Scheme for Providing Education to Madrasas and Minorities (SPEMM), a centrally sponsored umbrella programme, has a sub-scheme, the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM), under which recognised madrasas receive financial assistance to introduce ‘modern’ subjects such as science, mathematics, social studies, Hindi and English in their curriculum. The scheme was allocated ₹10 crore for the financial year 2023-24 — more than 90% less than the allocation in 2022-23, which was ₹160 crore.

Consequences of discontinuation of scholarship programmes

Social consequences- The minority community is already backward as affirmed by the Sacher committee if the youth of this community are deprived of quality higher education then there is a higher chance that they may be trapped in social evils like communalism, and crimes.

Political repercussions-uneducated generations are breeding grounds for polarisation of the society by political parties as is evident from our own history. In the long run, depriving a  community of quality education can hamper the unity and integrity of the nation itself.

Economic fallouts– we can’t achieve the goals of inclusive and sustainable development by depriving a section of quality education, because education is crucial to fostering productivity and equitable resource distribution.

Way forward

• The government should adhere to constitutional morality of ensuring the welfare of all of its citizens without discriminating on the grounds of religion, race or region.
• The government can promote the NGOs in this sector so that it can achieve its target of availing quality education with reduced economic burden.
• Ensure adequate employment opportunities at the local level so that people can afford quality education on their own.
• Community leaders can come forward to ensure quality education for the community by resource pooling.