Rahul Gandhi urges PM Modi to end hostel crisis and scholarship delays for marginalized students

In his recent letter, the Opposition leader calls for urgent reforms to improve substandard hostel facilities and resolve chronic scholarship issues affecting Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC, and minority students across India

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting serious issues that are preventing students from marginalized communities from accessing quality education. In his letter, Gandhi focuses on two major concerns.

Poor Hostel Conditions: Gandhi criticizes the state of residential hostels for students belonging to Dalit, Scheduled Tribes (ST), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and minority groups. During his recent visit to Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga, Bihar, he discovered that many hostels are in a deplorable state. Students shared shocking details of overcrowded rooms often 6-7 students forced to share a single room combined with unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water, no mess facilities, and a lack of libraries or internet access. These conditions not only compromise the health and well-being of these students but also hinder their ability to study and succeed.

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Delayed and Insufficient Scholarships: Alongside hostel conditions, Gandhi raised concerns about the post-matric scholarship system that aims to support education for marginalized communities. Citing the example of Bihar, he noted that the scholarship portal was non-functional for three years, which meant that no student received any scholarship during the 2021-22 academic year. Even after the portal was restored, the number of Dalit students receiving scholarships plummeted from 1.36 lakh in the financial year 2022-23 to just 0.69 lakh in 2023-24. Gandhi also pointed out that the scholarship amounts are far too low to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these students.

Gandhi’s Proposals for Change: In his letter, Gandhi urged the government to take immediate corrective action. His suggestions include: Conducting a comprehensive audit of all hostels designated for marginalized communities to ensure they meet basic standards in infrastructure, sanitation, nutrition, and academic support, Ensuring the timely disbursal of scholarships, Increasing the scholarship amounts, Enhancing coordination with state governments to improve the effective implementation of these schemes.

Gandhi concludes by stressing that the progress of India is closely linked to the progress of its youth. He firmly believes that unless young people from marginalized communities are well-supported, the nation cannot truly prosper. He awaits a positive and prompt response from the Prime Minister.