The Ministry of Minority Affairs in December issued a notification stating that students of Classes 1-8 will no longer be eligible for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities. The scheme has now been restricted to the students of Classes 9 and 10.
The Nai Udaan Scheme, meant to help minority candidates prepare for the preliminary examinations conducted by the Union and State Public Services Commissions, has been scrapped, as was the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for higher education in December.
These schemes have been terminated even though policy documents of the government think tank Niti Aayog – including the Action Agenda and the Strategy Document – have highlighted the fact that Muslims and other religious minorities lag behind on development indicators despite the Centre’s schemes for minorities.
The reason cited for the notification restricting the Pre-Matric Scholarships to Classes 9 and 10 is that students from Classes 1-8 are covered under the Right to Education Act, 2009, which makes it obligatory for the government to provide free and compulsory elementary education to each and every child.
The notification also stated that the decision was taken to ensure parity with similar scholarships offered by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which cover students of Classes 9 and 10.
The reasoning of the Ministry of Minority Affairs to scrap these scholarships does not hold water. Such scholarships and fellowships are awarded to encourage families to send their children to schools and colleges and incentivise students to continue their education. According to the findings of the 75th round of the National Sample Survey on education, 2017-’18, the dropout rate among Muslims is higher than among members of other religious minorities.
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