In a written reply to Congress MP TN Prathapan in the Lok Sabha, Minister of Minority Affairs Smriti Irani on December 8 stated the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) which was awarded to students from the minority communities would be discontinued from the current academic year (2022-23). The decision has enraged students from across India, and protests are already being planned in several universities.
The scheme was implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Irani stated that because the MANF "overlaps with various other fellowship schemes for higher education", the government has "decided to discontinue" it.
Many student unions from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have given a joint protest call. They burnt the effigy of Minister Irani at 6 pm today, December 9, at the North Shopcom in the varsity. NSUI (National Students' Union of India) HCU President Amal Jose Philip questioned, "The government cited that the MANF was overlapping with other fellowships. But what about those minority students who are not covered under any other scheme?"
Other organisations are also contemplating protests. "This attempt by the Union Government to discontinue the MANF scheme must be staunchly resisted by all those who seek to democratise India’s educational system," reads a statement issued by SFI (Students' Federation of India) Delhi. Meanwhile, Chinta Bar, an independent student body recognised by IIT Madras, stated that protests may be planned in future.
Consequences of discontinuation
The MANF scholarship is meant for MPhil and PhD scholars from Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi and Jain communities. Students fear its cancellation would lead to lesser representation of minorities in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), among other problems.
Representation of minorities
As per the data provided by Irani, 6,722 candidates "were selected under the [MANF] scheme between 2014-15 and 2021-22 and fellowships to the tune of ₹738.85 crores were distributed during the same period.” Philip says, "The number of students from the minority communities is low as it is. It may further come down."
On October 31, Philip submitted a representation to Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi, wherein he highlighted his concern regarding MANF. The scheme "has witnessed a reduction of 43% in terms of number of beneficiaries and 22.5% in terms of expenditure," the letter noted. "Then the scheme was still running. Its discontinuation leads to a graver concern," the NSUI leader stated.
Similar concerns are echoed by others as well. Devan CM, a member of Chinta Bar and scholar at IIT Madras, said, "The higher education right of minority scholars will be affected. The girls from Muslim communities in HEIs are few now, and the government's decision threatens them the most, in my opinion." He added. "Also, as per statistics, it can be seen that 50 per cent of the beneficiaries of MANF were from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. So, the discontinuation stands to affect the number of J-K students."
Financial issues
Devan said that the previous years of the pandemic had financially affected many, including research scholars from minority communities. "Many have families dependent on them. There was also a 9-month delay in the disbursement of scholarships last year, and the students received the funds in August this year," he pointed out.
Research obstacles
"Research is dependent on scholarships. It will be drastically affected," said Zeeshan Ahmad Shaik, a MANF awardee and research scholar at the Central University of Jammu. "We live in a city and have expenses to meet. A sudden discontinuation of the fellowship is problematic. There is the age factor to consider; we cannot seek other sources of income after all the years we have dedicated to research," he added.
Devan opined that scholars in universities will be affected by the discontinuation more than those in elite institutes like IITs, as funding from other sources was limited for them. "Here we receive good project funding, but that may be lacking in other varsities," he said.
Uncertainty leads to stress
"We are confused. There are two groups of scholars among us. For some, the funds under MANF have been delayed by 3 months, while for others the delay has stretched for six months now. We do not know if the current batches will get their fellowships or not and if the pending amount will be disbursed," said Ishfaq Majid, a MANF awardee and scholar from the Central University of Gujarat.
"We have approached the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) many times, but the officials not give any satisfactory clarification. They said that documents have been submitted for disbursement and they would let us know its status," he said further. Zeeshan added that this uncertainty has resulted in mental stress among the students. "My award letter says that the fellowship is valid for 5 years. So it is not likely to discontinue for me. But for other students, it will be unfair," he stated.
The question of overlap
The students say that the government's statement of MANF overlapping with other schemes is not justified. "It was specifically pointed out that the MANF overlaps with the OBCNF (Other Backward Classes National Fellowship). But many students from minority communities are not OBCs, STs or SCs," said Faisal Banna, former SFI Secretary at Pondicherry University.
"There is no overlap. I applied for JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) and MANF. I did not qualify for JRF by 4-5 marks. So, I got MANF," Zeeshan stated. "It is not possible for a student to benefit from multiple scholarships at the same time," added Devan.
A professor's word
"Education is the need of the nation, and everyone should be able to avail of it. The MANF was a good scheme. Many poor Muslim students benefitted from it. Its discontinuation is unfortunate. It should be continued," said a Professor from Jamia Millia Islamia.