Rahul Gandhi writes to PM on collapse of scholarship system, hostel crisis for SC, ST, OBC students

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging immediate intervention to address what he termed "deplorable" conditions in residential hostels and significant delays in post-matric scholarship disbursements for students from Dalit, Scheduled Tribe (ST), Economically Backward Class (EBC), Other Backward Class (OBC), and minority communities. In his letter dated June 10, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition highlighted a growing crisis within scholarship programs, citing Bihar as a prime example where the scholarship portal allegedly remained non-functional for three years, resulting in no scholarships being disbursed for the 2021-22 academic year.

Gandhi's letter detailed a sharp decline in beneficiaries, specifically noting that "The number of Dalit students receiving scholarships fell by nearly half, from 1.36 lakh in FY23 to 69,000 in FY24." He also conveyed student complaints that the disbursed scholarship amounts are "insultingly low." Drawing from his visit to the Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga, Bihar, Gandhi exposed severe overcrowding, with "6-7 students forced to share" single rooms, coupled with unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water, absent mess facilities, and no access to libraries or the internet.

The Congress leader contended that these issues are not isolated incidents in Bihar but "represent a nationwide failure," significantly hindering educational access and progress for a vast majority of students from marginalized backgrounds. He pressed for immediate government action, advocating for a comprehensive audit of all hostels serving these communities to ensure basic infrastructure, sanitation, food, and academic facilities, adequately backed by funding. Gandhi also called for systemic reforms to ensure timely scholarship disbursement, increased amounts, and improved execution in coordination with state governments, asserting that "India cannot progress unless youth from marginalised communities progress."

This appeal comes amidst reports of significant funding cuts to various scholarship schemes in the Union Budget 2025. For instance, funding for the National Fellowship and Scholarship for ST students was drastically reduced by 99.99% (from ₹240 crore in FY24 Revised Estimates to ₹0.02 crore in FY25 Budget Estimates). The Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities saw a 72.4% reduction, while the Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities faced a 69.9% cut. Additionally, the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme was slashed by 99.8%. These broad reductions, coupled with stalled stipends for over 1,400 PhD scholars under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) since January 2025 and issues with the National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes (NFSC) selection process, underscore the financial hardships impacting numerous students from marginalized communities.