The BJP-led Union government is accused of sabotaging the academic aspirations of the country’s most disadvantaged sections
NEW DELHI — The drastic cut in the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for students from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and other marginalised communities is a “cruel and calculated assault” on the right to education for Dalit and Adivasi students, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has said.
Strongly condemning the move, the SFI accused the BJP-led Union government of sabotaging the academic aspirations of the country’s most disadvantaged sections.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, SFI President Adarsh M Saji and General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya revealed that while 106 students had been shortlisted for the scholarship for the academic year 2025–26, only 40 have received provisional award letters. The remaining 66 students, despite being eligible and selected, remain in a state of uncertainty, as the government cited “scarcity of funds” as the reason for the delay in final approvals.
“The government’s inaction amounts to betrayal. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, holds direct responsibility for denying crucial educational opportunities to the most oppressed,” the SFI leadership stated.
The National Overseas Scholarship is a flagship affirmative action programme designed to offer financial support to students from SC, Denotified Nomadic Tribes (DNT), semi-nomadic tribes, landless agricultural labourers, and traditional artisan categories. The scheme enables them to pursue Master’s, PhD, or Post-Doctoral degrees in internationally recognised institutions. Eligibility is limited to students from families earning less than ₹8 lakh per annum.
Every year, up to 125 candidates benefit from the scheme. However, the sudden reduction in award letters this year has sparked outrage and concern within the student community, with SFI terming it part of a broader “anti-poor, anti-Dalit policy shift” by the current regime.
“The deliberate throttling of scholarships is consistent with the government’s larger Manuwadi agenda of denying social mobility to marginalised communities,” said the statement. “This is not an isolated act of negligence but a part of a systematic strategy to push backward communities out of higher education, especially from global academic spaces.”
The SFI has alleged that the curtailment of the NOS is not an aberration, but part of a dangerous pattern where the Union government has repeatedly reduced or delayed educational fellowships and welfare schemes targeting students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Citing previous incidents where research fellowships and minority scholarships were either cut or delayed, the students’ body warned of a growing trend toward the commercialisation and communalisation of education.
“This government has shown little interest in upholding the constitutional promise of equal access to education. Instead, it has prioritised policies that benefit corporate and elite interests while actively marginalising Dalit, Adivasi, and minority students,” SFI said.
The students’ organisation highlighted that the NOS scheme has historically served as a life-changing opportunity for youth from oppressed communities to gain access to global knowledge systems, advanced research, and professional training — privileges that are often otherwise unavailable due to entrenched socio-economic inequalities.
Nationwide Campaign Announced
Asserting that the denial of the National Overseas Scholarship is “nothing short of a social justice emergency,” SFI announced plans to launch a nationwide campaign to demand that the government immediately release the funds and award letters to all selected candidates.
“SFI has resolutely fought against the crushing of financial assistance schemes and will continue to do so. We appeal to the progressive student community across the country to join this struggle for educational justice,” the statement declared.
Student leaders also said they would write to Members of Parliament, state governments, and international universities to bring attention to the crisis and build solidarity.
Several educationists, Dalit rights activists, and opposition leaders have echoed SFI’s concerns, accusing the Union government of throttling social mobility for the marginalised. Social media platforms have seen a growing outcry under hashtags like #SaveOverseasScholarships and #JusticeForDalitStudents, with students sharing stories of how the delay has left them stranded after securing admissions to foreign universities.
“This is how dreams die — not from a lack of talent or ambition, but from deliberate indifference,” wrote one student on X, who had received an admission letter from a European university but remains without a scholarship.
As the new academic session approaches, the fate of 66 bright, marginalised students hangs in limbo. The SFI’s intervention brings renewed urgency to the issue and spotlights a disturbing shift in the Union government’s approach to educational equity. With pressure mounting, the coming weeks may see intensified protests and political mobilisation demanding the restoration of the full National Overseas Scholarship scheme.
It is pertinent to mention here that in December 2022, the Indian government discontinued the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) scheme, which provided financial assistance for minority students pursuing MPhil and PhD in India. Concurrently, the government also discontinued the Padho Pardesh scheme, which provided interest subsidies on education loans for minority students studying abroad.
The government cited overlapping with other schemes and potential for misuse as reasons for the discontinuation of the MANF and Padho Pardesh schemes. However, critics argue that the scrapping of these schemes, coupled with cuts to other minority welfare programmes, could hinder access to education, especially for disadvantaged students from minority communities.
