BRS Minority Education Protest | Hyderabad, Nov. 11: Senior BRS leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail and several party workers were arrested by Hyderabad Police on Wednesday. They were protesting near Banjara Bhavan against the Congress government’s handling of minority education.
The arrests took place while the Telangana government was organising National Education and Minority Welfare Day celebrations. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy attended the programme marking the 138th birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Speaking to the media, Abdullah Sohail criticised the Congress government over its unfulfilled promises to minorities. He said the commitments made during the 2023 Assembly elections, particularly those concerning education, remained unimplemented.
He questioned the purpose of the celebrations while minority students were facing delays in scholarships and fee reimbursement. He also alleged that several promised educational schemes had not been introduced.
“The Congress government is celebrating Maulana Azad’s birth anniversary with grand functions while thousands of minority students are suffering due to unpaid scholarships, pending fee reimbursement and non-implementation of promised educational schemes,” he said.
Sohail said the BRS protest aimed to highlight the gap between the Congress government’s electoral promises and its performance. He condemned the police action and accused the government of suppressing democratic protests.
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He asked Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to explain the status of commitments made in the Congress Minority Declaration. He said the arrests would not resolve concerns over minority education.
BRS Questions Delay in Taufa-e-Taleem Scheme
Sohail particularly criticised the government’s failure to launch the Abdul Kalam Taufa-e-Taleem scheme. The scheme was among the promises in the Congress Minority Declaration released before the 2023 Assembly elections.
Under the promise, minority students completing Class 10 would receive Rs. 10,000. The proposed assistance would increase to Rs. 15,000 at Intermediate level and Rs. 25,000 for graduation.
The declaration also promised Rs. 1 lakh for postgraduate studies. Students pursuing M.Phil and PhD programmes were promised Rs. 5 lakh.
Sohail alleged that no student had received assistance under the scheme despite nearly three years passing since the elections. He questioned the government’s commitment to minority education.
He also raised concerns over scholarships and tuition fee reimbursement. Citing a review of minority welfare schemes, he said the government had allocated Rs. 120 crore for Maintenance of Tuition Fees.
However, expenditure stood at only Rs. 1.2 crore, covering 321 students, he claimed. Against Rs. 300 crore allocated for Reimbursement of Tuition Fees, expenditure reportedly stood at around Rs. 45 crore.
Sohail further claimed that fresh scholarship and fee reimbursement liabilities accumulated after 2023 had crossed Rs. 519 crore. He said delayed payments were affecting students from economically weaker minority families.
He also alleged that educational institutions were facing financial pressure because of pending reimbursements.
BRS Minority Education Protest | Overseas Scholarship Payments and Minority Institutions
Referring to overseas education, Sohail said the government had allocated Rs. 130 crore for overseas scholarships. However, approximately Rs. 76 crore had been released, while actual expenditure stood at only Rs. 1.30 crore, he claimed.
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He further alleged that pending bills and cheques under the programme had exceeded Rs. 164 crore.
In comparison, Sohail claimed that the previous BRS government had provided overseas scholarship assistance worth Rs. 395.87 crore to 2,498 minority students.
The BRS leader also expressed concern over declining enrolment in minority residential educational institutions. He criticised the failure to conduct the promised Special DSC for Urdu-medium teachers.
He alleged that inadequate recruitment and poor infrastructure were affecting educational opportunities for minority students.
Sohail also said the Congress government had not fulfilled its promise of allocating Rs. 4,000 crore annually for minority welfare. Several other commitments in the 2023 Minority Declaration also remained unimplemented, he alleged.
BRS Minority Education Protest | BRS Demands White Paper on Minority Education
Abdullah Sohail demanded the immediate launch of the Taufa-e-Taleem scheme. He also sought clearance of scholarship and fee reimbursement arrears.
He called for the release of overseas scholarship funds and recruitment against vacant teaching posts.
“The best tribute to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad would be to provide quality education and financial support to deserving students,” Sohail said.
He also demanded a white paper on minority education. The document, he said, should detail allocations, expenditure, beneficiaries, pending dues and the implementation status of promises in the Congress Minority Declaration.
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