Nearly 1,700 students from government Urdu-medium schools in Hyderabad have received assistance towards their Secondary School Certificate examination fees through the Majlis Charities Educational and Relief Trust, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle citing the programme organisers.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi distributed the assistance at the party headquarters in Darussalam on Thursday. Cheques covering the examination fees were handed over to the respective school principals and heads, allowing the schools to facilitate support for eligible Class 10 students.
The assistance is part of a wider education support programme run by the trust. In September, it distributed nearly 12,000 educational kits, including school bags, long books and guide sets, to students in Classes 6 to 9. In October, nearly 8,000 Class 10 students across Telangana received All-in-One study material.
The trust said approximately ₹86 lakh is being spent on educational assistance this year. Over the past 21 years, it has spent nearly ₹10.50 crore on educational kits, SSC examination fees, cash awards for SSC toppers and study materials for underprivileged students.
The programme comes as students from low-income households continue to face costs associated with remaining in school and appearing for examinations. Examination fees are one component of the wider expense of secondary education, which can also include textbooks, transport, uniforms and coaching or study material. The assistance announced in Hyderabad is focused specifically on the examination-fee requirement.
Speaking at the programme, Owaisi also raised concerns about education access among Muslim students. He cited a national Gross Enrolment Ratio of 40% for Muslims and said Telangana’s figure was 36%, which he described as the highest among Indian states. These figures and other education statistics were presented as part of his address and were not independently detailed in the report.
Owaisi criticised the Union government over the reported discontinuation of pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships for Muslim students over the past four years. He said the government had cited alleged corruption during the tenure of former minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and an ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry, while arguing that the CBI had not directed the government to stop the scholarships.
He also referred to dropout figures that he attributed to UDIAC and the National Family Health Survey, citing rates of 8% at the primary level, 6% at the secondary level and 4% in higher education for Muslim students. He separately cited Uttar Pradesh government data for 2021-22, including a Muslim population share of 19.26% and higher dropout rates at the primary, secondary and higher-education levels. The report did not provide further documentation for the figures.
Owaisi urged school principals and headmasters to counsel students on pursuing higher education, selecting streams for Intermediate studies and making informed academic decisions after completing the SSC examination. The immediate assistance will be administered through the participating school principals and heads.
