Muslim Enrollment ratio was far less than any other communities in higher education sector in India is exposed by the official records of government itself. As per the data of All India survey on Higher Education, Muslim student ratio was only 4.9% in 2016-17. In proportion to their population of 14%, it is explicitly proving Muslim community is having much lack in getting their representation. Community representation among teachers is also nothing short of bad representation. There are only 4.9% teachers from the community in the higher education, said Nahas Mala (President SIO of India).
In such worse situation, it is the obligation of the fair and just government to ensure the missed representation to fulfill this backlog. Instead the Central government has taken exclusionary steps to curtail the existing measures to ensure their representation in the higher education and subsequently in education sector by scuttling MANF fellowship for Muslim community with more and more conditions. As per the new notification Muslim research scholars need clearance of UGC NET exam to apply for MANF fellowship. This is nothing else but yet another step by central government which against Muslim community and also undemocratic, he added.
SIO, strongly demand to revoke the new notification and to continue the curtailment move of government to exclude backward community students from higher education sector. We also demand the government to take steps to ensure fair representation of student who belongs to marginal communities considering the facts of AISHE 2017 set up by Ministry of Human Resource Department.

Syed Azharuddin
National Seretary, SIO of India.
[email protected] www.sio-india.org