The state-wise details of minority community students benefitted under scholarship schemes, and free coaching and allied scheme during the last three years and the current year, reveal quite interesting figures…writes Dr. Shujaat Ali Quadri (Freelance journalist and Chairman of Muslim Students Organization of India)
The “Naya Savera” scheme has significantly improved the educational status of minorities, especially Muslims, and they are doing well in competitive examinations for employment and admission. The scheme aims to empower students from minority communities and prepare them for competitive examinations, so as to improve their participation in public and private employment. It provides financial assistance for free coaching to notified minority students in selected coaching institutes.
Under this scheme, the government seeks to empower the minority communities, by assisting the relatively disadvantaged section of the society as well as the institutions working for them, to develop their skills and abilities to make them employable in industries, services and business sectors in national and international markets.
The Government of India wants students to develop the necessary flexibility to adapt to the dynamics of the market on a continuous basis so that they can meet the demands of job opportunities, the changing and emerging market requirements and employment opportunities in both domestically and internationally.
The selected coaching institutes should have record of three years of experience and at least 100 students enrolled which is required at the time of application for the plan. In the last three financial years, there are 19681133 scholarships (Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Schemes and Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship Scheme) that were sanctioned and 30,117 candidates benefitted under the Naya Savera Scheme.
The state-wise details of minority community students benefitted under scholarship schemes, and free coaching and allied scheme during the last three years and the current year, reveal quite interesting figures.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state in terms of Muslim population, has benefited the most. According to the statistics, 9040 students of Uttar Pradesh have been benefitted while 2899 from Karnataka, 2880 from Maharashtra, 2380 from West Bengal, 2260 from Madhya Pradesh, 1700 from Andhra Pradesh, 1550 from Gujarat, 1230 from Kerala, 1150 from Rajasthan, 1000 from Punjab, 950 from Haryana, 400 each from Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, 378 students from Delhi, 360 from Jharkhand, 350 from Manipur, 340 from Chandigarh, 300 from Meghalaya, 200 each from Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir and 150 students from Assam have been benefitted. The maximum amount was also given to the students of Uttar Pradesh, which is more than Rs 26 lakhs, while Maharashtra was given scholarships worth more than Rs 23 lakhs.
In order to join the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme, the institutes should have the required number of qualified faculty members on their pay rolls or part-time basis, as well as the institutions with the necessary facilities like campus, library, requisite equipment etc. To conduct the coaching classes in the courses applied for the good infrastructure is required.
The government is committed to ensure the benefits to the students, that’s why in the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme, only those coaching institutes are considered eligible, which are working with a minimum success rate of 15%. Its past performance as well as intake and success rate are taken into consideration in the selection.
The ministry had empanelled 130 PIAs across the country including the state of Tamil Nadu during the financial year 2017-18 in which Eligible students can avail the benefits of the scheme from any of the PIAs empanelled under the scheme, irrespective of the region. During the current financial year 2021-22, 37 PIAs have been allocated for providing free coaching to 5140 minority students under the Naya Savera scheme.
In reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minority Welfare Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the House on 3 February 2022 that the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme is for all the listed minority students. Under this, Group ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ are for the students preparing for service and competitive examinations. The government’s goal is to give the benefit of this scheme to the youth preparing for employment through the examinations of Public Service Commission, Railway, Bank, Insurance and Recruitment Board. Students preparing for admission can also take advantage of this scheme.
Students preparing for the examinations for admission in many vocational education institutions including medical, engineering are also benefiting from the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme. The minister had told that students can take advantage of the scheme by taking coaching from the coaching institute through any PIA. In additional to it, any NGO is allowed to apply in this.The minimum qualification for the institutions applying has been written above.
Naya Savera has heralded a new ray of hope. We are telling the success story of the scheme with a new ray of hope, especially the Muslim youth who have benefited from this scheme.