The "existing" fellows are distressed that unlike the UGC-regulated scholarships, their stipend has not been revised by the Union government.
Published Dec 22, 2023 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 28, 2023 | 2:04 PM
On 2 February, the Ministry of Minority Affairs announced the stipend hike for MANF scholars. (X)
On 7 December, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor urged the Union government to consider hiking the stipend for the non-National Eligibility Test (NET) research fellows.
Speaking during the Zero Hour of Parliament’s ongoing winter session, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the research quality of the fellows was suffering due to the insufficient resources in their institutions, inadequate support from their supervisors, and an absence of grievance redressal committees.
He added that the non-NET research fellowship stipend, which was ₹8,000 per month, had not been revised for 17 years now — since 2006, to be exact.
Echoing a demand quite akin to Tharoor’s, the “existing” scholars of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) are demanding a hike on a par with other Central government fellowships. The students also want timely disbursal of their stipends — a long-pending demand.
The MANF is named after India’s first education minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. It was launched in 2009 to provide five-year fellowships as financial assistance to students from six notified minority communities — Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, Parsi, and Sikh.
The Union government decided to scrap the MANF in December last year from the 2022-23 academic year.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani then informed Parliament that the scheme would be stopped as it overlapped with other, similar scholarships.
In October this year, the Ministry of Education (MoE) increased the emoluments of the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Senior Research Fellowship (SRF), and Research Associates (RAs) one and two.
The stipend for the JRF was hiked from ₹31,000 to ₹37,000, for the SRF from ₹35,000 to ₹42,000 and to at least ₹11,000 for the RAs.
The research scholars pursuing PhD at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad expressed their distress and confusion over why their stipend had not been considered for a hike by the MoE.
A social media campaign with the hashtag “#HikeInMANFtoo” is also being run on the X (formerly Twitter).
#HikeInMANFtoo
Advocating for inclusivity and fair treatment in fellowship programs is vital. It's essential to implement equal fellowship to MANF research scholars, @MOMAIndia should think in more inclusive and supportive environment.Kindly Hike MANF Scholars fellowship.… pic.twitter.com/4QZ4tEy105— All India Research Scholars Association (@AIRSAIndia) December 16, 2023
The students have also written to the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) demanding equalisation of the MANF stipend with other schemes.
Imran Khan, a PhD scholar at MANUU told South First, “MANF scholars are still getting the previous amount of ₹31,000, along with the ₹7,440 HRA (house rent allowance) and ₹3,000 quarterly contingency. But JRF, SRF, and other fellows — like those of the National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC) and National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes or Tribes (NFSC/ST) — are getting the hiked amount. When we used to get the same amount previously as them, what has changed now?”
Unable to hide his disappointment, he added, “It is like the government is giving petrol to some at ₹100 and to others at ₹150. What about the government’s motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas‘? We want our fellowship amount to be aligned with UGC and other relevant schemes.”
The students’ primary demand was a hike on a par with other Union government-run fellowships, as it would uphold the principles of justice, transparency, and equality. They, however, listed some other reasons as well.
Sheikh Ruksana, a third-year PhD scholar from Andhra Pradesh at the MANUU, pointed towards rapid inflation as well as the logistical costs she has to bear.
“We have to regularly take part in conferences, which itself cost around ₹8,000-9,000. Then there is the huge responsibility of getting a paper published. They entail massive article publishing charges (APCs) — at least ₹30,000-40,000 for a paper. A significant amount is required for all this, as it otherwise affects the quality of our research,” she explained.
Kashmir-origin Yasir Altaf, a third-year Computer Science PhD student at the MANUU, pointed towards increasing house rents.
“I came to Hyderabad in 2021 and the rent for my three-sharing PG was ₹5,500. It has gone up to ₹12,500 now,” he said,
Imran, a former faculty in the Commerce Department at a private college in Bengaluru, was supposed to attend a conference at the University of Delhi (UOD), but could not.
“I could not attend the conference due to the cost of flight and accommodation. The organisers were not providing a travel grant. I was rendered helpless due to the irregular disbursement of the MANF stipend,” he said.
He said he also has to regularly send home money for his mother’s chemotherapy for the treatment of blood cancer.
Students also said they have to borrow money from their friends and sometimes even professors.
“It is embarrassing to ask for money from parents at this age. They think we are getting fellowships on time,” Mohammed Tarique, a fifth-year PhD student at MANUU, told South First.
In its letter to the MoMA, MANF research scholars from MANNU also highlighted the need for prompt disbursal of scholarship funds. They claimed that they last received the stipend in August — four months ago.
South First reported on the three-month delay, which often extends to six to eight months, in December last year. Before that, it was reported in July of the same year.
Students told us then that the MANF stipend used to be regular, with the longest gap of two months in stipend disbursal, even during the pandemic.
Students of the Maulana Azad National University wrote to the Ministry of Minority Affairs secretary urging a revision in the stipend of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF). (Supplied)
Yasir Altaf, a PhD Computer Science third-year student at MANUU, told South First, “The JRF, SRF, and other fellows are experiencing a delay of only a few months, while we are waiting for at least three to four months every time.”
He added: “It seems like they are the priority. This feels like discrimination. When we see our juniors getting a larger stipend amount than us, an inferiority complex kicks in. It makes us feel as if we have achieved nothing.”
He added that most research scholars rely solely on the stipend for their day-to-day expenditures. “Forget asking our parents for money. We are expected to contribute at home,” Altaf said.
For Imran, the untimely disbursement of the MANF funds was like “being asked to eat breakfast at dinnertime”.
Basil Benny, a PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad, told South First, “When some other scholars called the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMFDC) helpdesk in Delhi, where we also register our grievances, they were told that the fund had not been released by the MoMA.”
Mohammed Adil, a first-year PhD Management scholar at the MANUU, is not eligible for the MANF as he secured admission in 2023, by when the scholarship had been discontinued.
Adil, who hails from the Begusarai district in Bihar, told South First, “I got to know about the MANF when I was pursuing postgraduation. It was a great hope. But when I got selected for PhD, I found it had been discontinued.”
He explained: “I have three siblings and my father is the only earning member. There would have been less of a financial burden on my family if the MANF had still been there. It was like a source of income for minority scholars.”
Citing the Sachar Committee’s 2006 report, which recognised the Muslim community as one of the most backward communities, Yasir said, “The sole purpose of the MANF was to uplift the education among the minorities, especially the Muslims. The community was already less inclined towards higher education. The future seems bleak and with the removal of the MANF.”
He added that he used to motivate his juniors to consider research as a profession. “Researchers contribute important findings to society. Some of us even resigned from our jobs for this opportunity, but with the removal of the MANF, it feels like those odd-paying jobs were better,” he lamented.
Syed, a second-year MANF research scholar in the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at MANUU, said the MoMA looks like a ministry reluctant to cater to the public.
“It looks like the minority vote is not of use to the ruling dispensation due to which they seem to have forgotten their role as accountable authority,” he said.
While announcing the decision to stop the MANF, Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani stated that the scheme overlapped with three other schemes for minorities — the pre-matric scholarship scheme, the post-matric scholarship scheme, and the merit-cum-means-based scholarship scheme.
However, the students noted that even if minority scholars had the option to avail of fellowships meant for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as well as the MANF, they would get to avail only one.
“How is the overlap possible when the MANF is Aadhaar-based? We have to submit a lot of paperwork and only then we can avail of this scholarship. It’s like the government saying we have two Aadhaar cards. Is it not the responsibility of the government to identify which student receives which scholarship?” Yasir asked.
“The delay [in stipend disbursal] shows that the ministry is treating the scholarship as a mere burden on the treasury and not a responsibility towards the scholars, an investment on whom is an investment on the future,” said Syed.
Meanwhile, the students also claimed that the discontinuation of the MANF was directly affecting minority scholars coming from the unreserved category.
On 26 December, the MANF Cell of the NMDFC told South First saying that the scholarship funds till September 2023 were released and the “process of release of subsequent installment is under consideration and on receipt of funds”.
(The story has been updated with a response from the NMDFC)
