The Karnataka government’s recent decision to drop the proposal to continue the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Caste (SC) students admitted under the management quota in private colleges has sparked outrage among education activists, student groups and rights organisations. Documents accessed under the Right to Information Act (RTI) have laid bare how the Finance Department, citing ‘financial constraints,’ rejected the proposal despite repeated appeals from both within and outside the government.
According to sources, the finance department made its decision in 2023. When Dalit organisations pressed the state government to continue the facility, the Social Welfare Department initially repeated its earlier stand, recommending that a clear policy be formulated to protect SC students admitted under the management quota. If not, it suggested handing over the management of hostels to the Higher Education Department. However, once the matter reached the Finance Department, it encountered another roadblock.
In June 2023, Finance Department Secretary Dr. P.C. Jaffer rejected the Rs 23.5 crore proposal, saying the entire burden would fall on the state exchequer since the Centre does not cover students admitted under the management quota. Later, Finance Secretary M.T. Reju echoed this stance, calling it an ‘unviable burden’ for the state’s limited resources.
Ironically, the same Finance Department had earlier cited similar ‘financial constraints’ to deny an additional grant of just Rs 11.29 crore for a 10 per cent increase in admissions to residential schools. The pattern shows an unmistakable reluctance to strengthen social welfare commitments for marginalised communities, critics say.
The betrayal feels particularly acute as the ruling Congress party has built its narrative around social justice and upliftment of the marginalised. Educationists argue that if the government can find thousands of crores for infrastructure projects, tax waivers and high-profile summits, it is shameful that it cannot spare Rs 3 crore for deserving SC students pursuing higher education.
Activists say the move practically punishes poor Dalit students for securing admission under the management quota, often the only option left due to intense competition and limited government seats. Many students pay exorbitant fees, hoping the state’s scholarship would ease their burden. For families in rural areas, this means falling into debt traps or dropping out mid-way.
Student groups have strongly condemned the decision, calling it anti-Dalit, anti-poor and a betrayal of the constitutional promise of equality. They argue that the state should have pressed the Centre to include management quota students under the centrally sponsored post-matric scholarship scheme, rather than passing the buck and letting thousands of students suffer.
What is more disturbing is that the government appears to have quietly buried the issue. No official announcement was made. Instead, the Social Welfare Department was simply informed via a note sheet on October 26, 2023, that the proposal ‘stands dropped.’ No alternative support system has been announced.
The silence from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s office on this rollback is being viewed as hypocrisy by Dalit leaders, who point out that the same CM often invokes social justice and the empowerment of backwards classes in his public speeches. The government’s moral high ground means nothing if its actions undermine the futures of the same communities it claims to uplift, they say.
Organisations like the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti and various student unions are planning protests and legal action to demand immediate revival of the scholarship, expansion of hostel facilities, and full funding for SC students under all quotas. They insist that the state must find the political will to prioritise education for its most marginalised citizens.
