Hyderabad: Against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating a building housing the School of Commerce and Management at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University’s Hyderabad campus and a polytechnic building at the Cuttack campus, students’ union raised concerns over budget cuts and discontinuation of scholarships to minorities in the country.Mateen Ashraf, president of the MANUU students’ union 2023-24, said, “The total budget for education empowerment for minorities, which was Rs 2,515 crore last year, is reduced to Rs 1,689 crore this year.”He expressed the unhappiness of the student community over the discontinuation of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and the issues faced by students due to the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) debacle.“This decision is perceived as a significant setback for students from minority communities, particularly Muslims, who heavily relied on this scholarship to pursue higher studies. Also, characterising a Central University as fake, red-flagged, and consequently debarring thousands of students from accessing and applying for scholarships, is perceived as an act of discrimination against minority communities,” another student said.The students’ union urged the government to address the stagnant stipends for non-NET research scholars and emphasised the need for a substantial hike to address the challenges faced by scholars.
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