Telangana students’ body demands action on over 1.21 lakh pending minority student applications

Hyderabad: As many as 1,21,805 applications for post-matric scholarship of minority students are pending, and none have been sanctioned till now, stated Muslim scholars and community leaders in an open letter to chief minister A Revanth Reddy.

The letter was handed over to the Telangana minority welfare minister, A Laxman Kumar, by representatives of Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) and other student welfare bodies.

Severe academic and financial distress

The letter urges CM Revanth to immediately release the funds so that the higher education of the students is not affected.

The letter also highlights a deepening crisis, with thousands of students facing severe academic and financial distress, leading to debt, disruption of education, and potential dropouts.

Letter urges CM to release funds

The letter, signed by key figures like Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani and Dr M Khalid Mubashir uz Zafar, outlines three key demands:

- Immediate release of all pending scholarships.

- Implementation of a time-bound and transparent disbursement process.

- Allocation of special emergency funds to clear the existing backlogs.

Continuation of pending scholarship issues

Delays in the release of scholarships have intensified the crisis for students who want to pursue further studies but are economically weak.

The State government, under its ePASS initiative, provides scholarships and fee reimbursements to students from various marginalised communities, including minorities, to support their higher education. However, a pattern of delayed disbursement has been a recurring challenge.

According to data collected by Students' Islamic Organisation of India, for the academic year 2024-25, 1,21,805 applications are pending and none have been sanctioned till now.

Only 40 from over 1.50 lakh applications approved

In the year 2023-24, there were 1,54,725 applications, but only 40 were approved.

In the year 2023-24, there were 7,927 applications which were approved.

Certificates withheld

In the academic year 2024-25, the delay has caused problems for students as their original academic certificates have been withheld due to non-payment of fees. They are also not able to apply to colleges.

A Right to Information (RTI) query earlier this year revealed significant underutilisation of allocated funds.

The response showed that a substantial portion of the budget for schemes like Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF) and Maintenance of Tuition Fee (MTF) remained unspent. For the RTF scheme, only Rs 73 crore out of Rs 300 crore allocated for 2024-25 was disbursed.

Government steps so far

Students' Islamic Organisation has been taking up the issue with the government. The government has acknowledged the issue and, in some cases, also issued directives to colleges not to withhold the certificates.

But with the issue not resolved, there are many who are left in a lurch and cannot pursue further studies.