Union Budget cuts funding for education schemes for tribal, minority students
The government defended the cuts as part of streamlining education for minority students
New Delhi: New Delhi: The Union Budget 2025 has introduced significant cuts to several education schemes supporting students from tribal and minority communities.
The National Fellowship and Scholarship for higher education of scheduled tribe (ST) students has seen a 99.99% reduction, with its allocation dropping from ₹240 crore in the revised estimates (RE) for 2024 to just ₹0.02 crore in the budget estimates (BE) for 2025.
The government defended the cuts as part of streamlining education for minority students.
The National Overseas Scholarship Scheme has also been cut by 99.8%, falling from ₹6 crore in RE 2024 to ₹0.01 crore in BE 2025.
The Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities, allocated ₹326.16 crore in RE 2024, will now receive ₹90 crore, marking a 72.4% decrease. Similarly, the Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities has been reduced by 69.9%, from ₹1,145.38 crore in RE 2024 to ₹343.91 crore in BE 2025.
The Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for professional and technical courses has seen a 42.6% reduction, from ₹33.80 crore in RE 2024 to ₹19.41 crore in BE 2025.
Other allocations have also been adjusted, including the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority students, which saw a 4.9% cut, from ₹45.08 crore in RE 2024 to ₹42.84 crore in BE 2025. The Free Coaching and Allied Schemes for minorities initially saw a 65% reduction, dropping from ₹10 crore in RE 2024 to ₹3.5 crore, before being revised back to ₹10 crore. The Scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loan for Overseas Studies has been reduced by 46.6%, from ₹15.30 crore in RE 2024 to ₹8.16 crore in BE 2025. The Education Scheme for Madrasas and Minorities has faced a 99.5% reduction, from ₹2 crore in RE 2024 to just ₹0.01 crore.
A month ago, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, chaired by BJP lawmaker PC Mohan, criticised the ministry of minority affairs for delays in approvals and questioned the adequacy of the reduced funding.
The ministry, which has been running its scholarship programs without formal approval since 2021-22, explained that the cuts reflect a decision to focus on students in Classes IX and X, as students in Classes I-VIII are already covered under the Right to Education Act.
However, the committee expressed concerns that the new allocation may not be enough to support all eligible students.
The committee pointed out that no new schemes have been introduced to replace the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and the Padho Pradesh Interest Subsidy Scheme that were discontinued in 2022-23 due to overlaps with other government programs.
The ministry in the responses said that more than 50% of the minority scholarship schemes recipients have been female, surpassing the 30% reservation for women in these schemes.
The government has defended the cuts as part of efforts to streamline and consolidate education programs, while the committee has called for an expansion of support initiatives, including free coaching and residential education, to ensure that minority students have access to the resources they need.