Asaduddin Owaisi criticises Central Government for stopping scholarships

Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly criticised the Central Government for stopping pre-matric, post-matric, and merit-cum-means scholarships. He termed this move as an injustice done to the students. According to a report in 'The Hindu', Owaisi made this statement on Thursday from the headquarters of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) located at Darussalam. On this occasion, he distributed educational kits to approximately 1,700 students studying in government Urdu-medium schools and provided assistance for their examination fees.

Attacking the Central Government, Owaisi stated, "By stopping scholarships for the last four years, you are doing injustice to the students. I strongly condemn this action of the Central Government." He presented various data to highlight the dropout rates and gaps in educational access within the Muslim community. He stated that according to 2014 data, 15% of Muslim children were not attending school.

Referring to UDISE data, he said that in 2020-21, the proportion of minority students in Class 10 was 14.5%, which increased to 24.4% the following year. Owaisi added, "This is a slap in the face of those who say that Muslims do not want to study." However, according to data from National Family Health Survey 5, the proportion of girls aged 6 to 17 who have never attended school was highest among Muslims compared to other communities.

Based on the fact that Muslims constitute 14% of the country's total population, Owaisi explained that their representation is proportionally much lower. He stated that from the primary level to the secondary level, this percentage drops from 8% to 6%, while in higher education, namely Class 11 and 12, it further decreases to 4%. Alleging against the rulers, he said, "Now you think, is this not an example of the hatred of those in power? They repeatedly lie that Muslims do not want to study."

Referring to the Kundu Committee report, Owaisi said that Professor Amitabh Kundu had cited the lack of economic resources as the main reason why Muslim families are unable to educate their children. Additionally, the lack of a safe environment for girls and the shortage of schools in villages were also significant factors. Providing shocking information, he said that in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, there are more than 300-400 villages where there is no school.

Speaking about the 2021-22 enrollment data of Uttar Pradesh, he stated that despite Muslims being 19.26% of the state's population, their share was 17.3% at the primary level, 12.6% at the secondary level, and 11.4% at the higher secondary level. In the context of Telangana, he said that approximately five lakh students take the SSC examination every year. According to the state's 12% Muslim population, approximately 60,000 to 65,000 Muslim students should have taken the exam, including about 8,000 Urdu-medium students.

According to data from the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of Muslims in Telangana was 33.6%, while the state average was 40%. In this community, the GER for girls was 34% and for boys it was 33%. Owaisi noted that although they have not reached the state average of 40%, their GER is the highest in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu with 27.6%.

Finally, Asaduddin Owaisi requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to read the Kundu Committee report, which was submitted to the Central Government in October 2014. He stated that this report highlights in detail the difficulties faced by Muslims in obtaining education.