‘Public institutions must serve the interests of society as a whole, not the sectarian whims of those in power’
NEW DELHI — The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has come out strongly against the Union Government’s newly announced Setubandha Vidwan Yojana, a scheme that allows students from traditional Gurukuls (mostly run by RSS and its frontal organisations) to gain direct entry into top research institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), bypassing conventional academic qualifications.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the SFI’s Central Executive Committee called the scheme “an attempt to reorient public institutions to serve the BJP’s narrow ideological vision,” warning that it undermines scientific rigour, academic standards, and the secular character of India’s higher education system.
“This is not an isolated scheme but part of a broader project within the National Education Policy (NEP), which seeks to restructure education along majoritarian lines,” the SFI said.
The scheme is reportedly being promoted under the government-backed Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) initiative, which aims to incorporate elements of ancient Indian knowledge into modern education.
However, the left students’ organisation questioned the rationale behind offering research positions and higher scholarships to students without formal academic training, calling it a move that “endangers scientific integrity.”
At the same time, the student body highlighted what it called a “glaring neglect” of pressing issues faced by research scholars and postgraduate students in mainstream institutions. These include long-standing demands such as increased stipends for MTech and MS students, timely disbursement of PhD fellowships, and the restoration of discontinued funding schemes like the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority students.
“The government is generously funding ideologically driven schemes while genuine academic and financial concerns of students remain unaddressed,” said SFI President Adarsh M Saji and General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya in the joint statement.
Calling the Setubandha Vidwan Yojana a distortion of public education priorities, the SFI urged students, faculty, and the broader academic community to stand in opposition to what it termed an “assault on public education.”
“Public institutions must serve the interests of society as a whole, not the sectarian whims of those in power,” the statement added.
