By Syed Ali Mujtaba
A survey of Muslim of Muslim managed public and private institutions of higher education in India reveals that Hindu students outnumber their Muslim counterparts in these institutions in the country.
Center for Study and Research CSR and NOUS Network Private Limited have published a report that finds that Hindu students comprise more than 55 percent of the total student population in Muslim colleges. In contrast, Muslim enrolment is only 42 percent in such colleges.
The report says this trend is consistent across universities and colleges managed by the Muslim community in the entire country.
The study finds that Muslim-run institutions underscore the inclusive nature of these institutions and maintain high quality of education which is the reason for the presence of significant Hindu students in these colleges.
The study also provides insights into the programmes offered by Muslim-affiliated educational institutions in India. It points out that there is no religious component in the pedagogy of such Muslim-run institutions. ‘These institutions are temples of secular education,’ says Mohammad Rizwan, the director of CSR.
The study presents the enrollment pattern and gender distribution of Muslim students in minority-run educational institutions. The study also highlights the issue of enrollment and dropout rates among Muslim students.
The report also emphasized addressing socio-economic and educational challenges faced by the Muslim community. The report suggests policy interventions are needed to address this disparity and also suggests improving the accessibility of education to Muslim students.
The study concludes with recommendations for policymakers to address the underrepresentation of Muslims in higher education and implement policies to enhance educational opportunities for the Muslim community.
The Centre for Studies and Research CSR is a non-profit organization to produces knowledge in all fields that impact human lives in India. CSR monitors changes in cultural, political, and social spheres and provides practical solutions to the problems at hand.
NOUS Network Private Limited is a Think Tank-Media house in New Delhi. It aims to reconstruct the discourse around human rights, development, culture, politics, and religion.
Key findings of the study shed light on the demographic composition and educational landscape of Muslim-managed institutions:
Key findings of the study:
Universities:
- Out of the total 1113 universities in India as per AISHE 2020-21 data, 23 universities belong to Muslim Minority. The share of Muslim managed universities is just 2.1%.
2. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of universities, followed by Karnataka.
3. Of the 23 Muslim universities, the majority (43.5%) are privately managed, followed by public state universities (26.1%), deemed private universities (13%), and central universities (13%).
4. Around 69.9% of Muslim universities are located in urban areas.
5. Out of the total 97,928 students enrolled in the academic year 2021-22, 42.1% are Muslims, 52.7% are Hindus, and 5.2% belong to Other Minority groups.
6. Regarding Muslim students, there were 26,039 (63.09%) male students and 15,236 (36.91%) female students enrolled in Higher Education.
7. Among the 41,275 Muslim students enrolled, less than 1% represent Scheduled
8. Tribes, 34% were belong to Other Backward Classes, 42.8% were from the Unreserved Category, and the remaining 16.4% are from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
COLLEGES:
1. Out of the total 43,796 colleges in India as per AISHE 2020-21 data, 1,155 colleges are managed by Muslim minority community. It means that the share of Muslim managed colleges is just 2.6%.
2. Of these 1,155 colleges, 141 (12.2%) are technical colleges registered with the All India Council for Technical Education.
3. Despite making up 73.4% of all minority groups, Muslim minority communities only have a 16.6% share in technical colleges. In contrast, other minority groups, comprising 26.6% of the population, hold an 83.4% share in technical colleges.
4. 6.4% of Muslim colleges in India are exclusively for girls.
5. The top 10 states in terms of the number of colleges in India are Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Jammu & Kashmir. These states account for 90.47% of the total colleges in the country.
6. Of the 1,155 Muslim minority colleges, 85.5% are private (unaided), 10.6% are private (aided), and 3.9% are government colleges.
7. Kerala has 24.9 colleges per lakh population while UP has 4.9 colleges and West Bengal has a mere 1.8 colleges per lakh population. The national average of colleges per lakh population stands at 6.4%.
8. Of the 1155 Muslim minority colleges, 85.5% are private (unaided), 10.6% are private (aided), and 3.9% are government colleges.
9. About 57.8% of Muslim minority colleges are located in rural areas.
10. The majority of colleges (93.16%) offer Undergraduate level programs, while only 6.32% offer PhD level programs.
11. Kerala has the highest number of colleges offering PhD programs, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
12. Around 51% of colleges only provide undergraduate level programmes.
13. Out of the total 524,441 students enrolled in the academic year 2021-22, 42.1% are Muslims, 55.1% are Hindus, and 2.8% belong to Other Minority groups.
14. In terms of Muslim students, there were 104,163 (47.18%) male students and 116,622 (52.82%) female students enrolled in Higher Education.
15. Among the 220,785 Muslim students enrolled, less than 1% represent Scheduled Tribes, 48.1% belong to Other Backward Classes, 50.7%
16. come from the Unreserved Category, and the remaining 0.9% are from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
17. 96.4% of colleges did not participate in the NIRF ranking of 2023.
18. None of the colleges secured a position in the top 100 in the NIRF 2023 college rankings.
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Syed Ali Mujaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
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