Over 1.2 lakh Telangana students await scholarships, fee reimbursement: SIO flags delay

Hyderabad: As many as 1.21 lakh applications for scholarship and fee reimbursements are pending before the Telangana State government for the academic year 2024-25. The Students' Islamic Organisation (SIO) Telangana has raised the alarm, highlighting a critical situation that threatens the educational rights of marginalised students.

A delegation from SIO Telangana, led by State Secretary Mohd Hammaduddin, recently met with Adluri Laxman Kumar, minister for Minority Welfare and MLA Dharmapuri, to press for immediate action on the delayed scholarship and fee reimbursement under the Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF) and Maintenance of Tuition Fee (MTF) schemes.

1,21,805 applications for RTF scheme are unsanctioned

The delegation presented stark figures underscoring the severity of the crisis:

1) For the academic year 2024-25, a staggering 1,21,805 applications for post-matric scholarship funds under the RTF scheme remain unsanctioned.

2) The situation was equally grim in the previous academic year (2023-24), where out of 1,54,725 applications received, only a paltry 40 were approved.

3) This marks a significant decline from 2022-23, when 7,927 applications were sanctioned out of 1,63,809 received.

The prolonged delays have created immense hardship for students, many of whom are unable to access their original academic certificates from colleges due to unpaid dues. This, in turn, prevents them from pursuing higher education or securing employment opportunities, effectively jeopardising their careers. Colleges are also reportedly facing financial strain due to the non-disbursal of these funds.

Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar assured the SIO delegation of immediate follow-up with the concerned departments to address the issue. SIO emphasised that the timely disbursal of scholarships is not merely a matter of financial assistance but a fundamental issue of justice and educational rights for marginalised communities.

Minority scholarship issues

The challenges faced by minority students in Telangana extend beyond the current delays.

A recent Right to Information (RTI) query, dated March 19, has exposed significant underutilisation of allocated funds for minority scholarships. The RTI response revealed that a substantial 75 per cent of the funds allocated under the RTF and MTF schemes for minorities remained unspent.

This applies to:

Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF): Out of Rs 300 crores allocated between April 1, 2024, and February 2025, only Rs 73 crores were disbursed, leaving Rs 227 crores unspent.

Maintenance of Tuition Fee (MTF): Of the Rs 120 crores sanctioned, only Rs 30 crores were utilised, resulting in Rs 90 crores lying idle.

Lack of awareness among minority students regarding available government schemes and scholarships is further exacerbating the problem. The consistent delays and under-disbursal of funds are contributing to higher dropout rates among Muslim students in higher education, hindering the overall development of the community.