Overview

• Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Modi on June 10 detailing overcrowded rooms, unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water and lack of study or mess facilities in hostels for Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority students
• He highlighted that Bihar’s scholarship portal was non-functional for three years—resulting in no disbursements in 2021-22—and that Dalit scholarship recipients plunged from 1.36 lakh in FY23 to 0.69 lakh in FY24
• Gandhi noted that post-matric scholarships across the country suffer chronic delays and insufficient amounts, undermining higher-education access for marginalized youth
• He urged a comprehensive audit of all hostels serving marginalized communities to verify sanitation, infrastructure, mess and academic resources plus increased funding to remedy deficiencies
• He called for timely disbursal of scholarships, higher award amounts and stronger coordination with state governments and is awaiting a response from the Modi administration