Parliament Question: Educational Development of Minority Students

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION DIARY NO. 2792 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF MINORITY STUDENTS 2792 SHRI CHANDAN CHAUHAN:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the ongoing schemes for the educational advancement of minority students across the country particularly in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh where a significant population of the minority community resides along with the details of the beneficiaries and expenditure incurred during the last five years, scheme-wise;

(b) whether the Government has made any assessment of the major challenges faced by minority students in education including access to education, scholarship, school infrastructure, digital resources, skill development and admission to higher education and if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the details of special steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Government to increase the educational achievements and participation in higher education of students particularly in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh considering education as a key instrument of social and economic progress? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) to (c): The Ministry of Minority Affairs had implemented scholarship schemes for students belonging to the six notified minority communities through the National Scholarship Portal

(NSP) till academic Year 2021-22. The details of the beneficiaries and expenditure incurred during the last five years including Bijnor is at annexure-I.

Further, the Ministry also implements the PMVIKAS scheme under which the Ministry provides support to dropout minority students to enrol under National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to take up 8th, 10th and 12th standard certificates, which enable them to take up higher level education or skill training. At present, PM VIKAS project is not being imparted in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has further implemented the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme, to support meritorious students from economically weaker minority communities pursuing professional and technical courses.In addition, the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) provides educational loans on concessional terms to eligible minority students pursuing higher and professional education.

The Ministry of Education also implements several schemes for improving access, equity and quality in higher education, including establishment and expansion of higher educational institutions, student financial assistance, digital learning initiatives and academic support programmes, which are available to all eligible students, including those belonging to minority communities.

The Government continues to review and strengthen measures for educational empowerment of minority communities through targeted interventions, awareness generation, financial support mechanisms and convergence with schemes of the Ministry of Education and other Ministries, subject to availability of resources and approval of competent authority.

*****Annexure-I Scholarship details in r.o. Bijnor District for AY 2021-22 & 2022-23 MERIT-CUM-MEANS PRE MATRIC SCHOLARSHIPS POST MATRIC SCHOLARSHIP SCHOLARSHIP FOR FOR MINORITY SCHEMES MINORITIES CS PROFESSIONAL AND District Name AY TECHNICAL COURSES CS Sanctioned Sanctioned Sanctioned Sanctioned Sanctioned Sanctioned Beneficiaries Amount Beneficiaries Amount Beneficiaries Amount 2021-22 45221 184220670 5554 42008624 585 14670130 BIJNOR 2022-23* 1619 7595796 623 4678051 270 6752391 * Renewal payment for the AY 2022-23