Govt Halts Minority Scholarships, Funds Go Unused

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Web desk

Published on Aug 12, 2025, 06:00 PM | 2 min read

New Delhi: The Union Government has not granted approval for the continuation of key scholarship schemes for minority students — namely, the Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, and Merit-cum-Means Scholarships — beyond the financial year 2021–22. This was revealed by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha by MP Dr. John Brittas.

These scholarships were previously implemented to promote the socio-economic and educational advancement of students belonging to minority communities across the country. Dr. Brittas criticized the move, calling it a serious lapse on the part of the government.

“It is a grave failure on the part of the government to discontinue scholarship schemes aimed at the educational progress of lakhs of economically backward minority students,” Dr. Brittas stated in Parliament.

The discontinuation of these schemes has also led to underutilization of allocated funds, raising further concern. In the 2024–25 financial year, although Rs. 90 crore was allocated for the Pre-Matric Scholarship, only Rs. 1.55 crore was actually spent. For the Post-Matric Scholarship, Rs. 343.91 crore was allocated, but just Rs. 5.31 crore was utilized. Similarly, while Rs. 19.41 crore was set aside for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship, only Rs. 3.50 crore was spent, according to official data.

In addition to these, other major schemes like the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), the Padho Pardesh scheme, and the Scheme for Providing Education to Madrasas and Minorities (SPEMM) have also been scrapped by the Ministry since the 2022–23 financial year.

“The Union Government is blatantly neglecting schemes that were crucial for students from minority communities living below the poverty line, who depended on them to achieve educational success,” said Dr. Joh Brittas.

What makes this more alarming is the complete lack of explanation or public debate. Instead of expanding access to education in a country still grappling with inequality, the government is pulling the rug from under the feet of some of the most marginalized.