NEW DELHI: Students’ organisations across the country condemned the Central government’s
the decision to discontinue the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and called for protests against the decision.
In a written reply to Congress MP T N Prathapan on Thursday, Union Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani stated that the decision was made because the fellowship overlaps with other schemes.
Reacting to this decision, V P Sanu, president of the Student Federation of India (SFI) tweeted, “Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority students was for candidates who belong to minority communities of Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain in higher education.”
N S Abdul Hameed, president, of the National Student Union of India (NSUI) of Jamia Millia Islamia University stated that the stopping of a fellowship named after Maulana Azad is an insult towards our nation builders. Afia Jamal, a PhD student of Psychology said that after this news there is a lot of confusion among students.
First of all, can students availing of this fellowship scheme continue further or not? She questioned the argument about this scheme overlapping with others, and said, “A benefactor of MANF is not eligible for any other fellowship. A student can avail of benefits of only one fellowship at a time.”
The scheme was launched in 2009 as a part of the Sachar committee recommendations. Under this scheme, the government provides financial aid to students belonging to six minority communities – Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists, Christians, and Jains – to pursue PhD and MPhil education.
To be eligible for this fellowship, the annual income of parents or guardians of beneficiaries should not exceed Rs 6 lakh per annum, from all sources.
As per the UGC, around 6,722 candidates benefited through MANF between 2014-15 and 2021-22. In this seven years period, a total amount of Rs 738.85 cr was distributed.
To the detriment of minorities
MANF launched in 2009 as a part of implementing the Sachar committee recommendations
6,722 candidates selected under MANF between 2014-15 and 2021-22
Minority candidates (Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain) pursue
PhD and MPhil under the scheme
30% of the fellowship is earmarked for women students, remaining 70% for general