Congress LoP Flags Deplorable Hostels and Post-Matric Scholarship Backlogs
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has written a detailed letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding urgent action to overhaul hostel facilities and streamline post-matric scholarships for students from Dalit, Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), Economically Backward Class (EBC) and minority backgrounds.
Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi writes a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on improving hostel conditions and timely scholarships for students from marginalised communities. pic.twitter.com/t5yM72zNTF
— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2025
Gandhi’s letter, dated 10 June 2025, cites first-hand complaints from students at Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga and warns that India’s aspirations for inclusive growth will stall unless the living and learning conditions of its most vulnerable youth improve. He calls for a nationwide infrastructure audit, higher scholarship amounts, and strict timelines for disbursal, stressing that “India cannot progress unless youth from marginalised communities progress.”
Poor Hostel Infrastructure Threatens Education Access for Dalit, ST, OBC & Minority Youth
In his missive, Rahul Gandhi paints a grim picture of hostel life: six to seven students crammed into single rooms, unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water, dysfunctional mess kitchens, and a near-total absence of libraries or internet access. These deficiencies, he argues, violate the basic right to dignified education and disproportionately push Dalit, Tribal and minority students toward drop-out or under-performance. The situation he observed in Bihar is emblematic of a nationwide crisis, underscoring how neglected residential infrastructure has become a silent barrier to social mobility.
Gandhi’s proposed fix begins with a comprehensive hostel audit covering structural safety, sanitation, nutrition, and digital connectivity across all states. He urges the Union Government to create a special infrastructure corpus and to collaborate with state authorities for time-bound upgrades. The Congress leader reminds the Prime Minister that flagship slogans like “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas” ring hollow when marginalised students are denied safe hostels—a direct appeal certain to resonate with voters keen on social justice.
Scholarship Payment Delays Undermine ‘Sabka Saath’ Promise, Gandhi Warns
Beyond brick-and-mortar concerns, Gandhi spotlights systemic delays in post-matric scholarship disbursement. He notes that Bihar’s scholarship portal was non-functional for three years, resulting in zero payouts in 2021-22; even after partial revival, the number of Dalit beneficiaries plummeted from 1.36 lakh in FY23 to 0.69 lakh in FY24. Such backlogs erode trust, burden families with debt, and force many students to abandon higher education.
To repair the pipeline, the letter recommends:
- Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) integration with real-time tracking dashboards so students can monitor application status.
- Fixed quarterly payment windows to ensure predictability.
- An upward revision of scholarship amounts to reflect rising tuition and living costs, indexed to inflation.
- A joint Centre–State grievance redressal portal staffed with academic counselors so that delays and discrepancies are addressed within 30 days.
Gandhi concludes that failing to deliver timely scholarships contradicts the government’s own commitment to an equitable “Digital India” and risks widening the very opportunity gap the scheme was designed to close. He seeks the Prime Minister’s “positive response,” signalling that the issue could become a flashpoint in forthcoming parliamentary debates on education and social welfare.
