New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging the "deplorable" conditions in residential hostels for Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority students and the delay in post-matric scholarships for those from marginalised communities.

In his letter to Modi, Gandhi urged the PM to resolve these two critical issues which he said hinder education opportunities for the 90 per cent of students who are from marginalised communities.

"Firstly, the conditions in residential hostels for students from Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority communities are deplorable. During a recent visit to Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga, Bihar, students complained about single rooms which 6-7 students were forced to share, unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water, lack of mess facilities, and no access to libraries or the internet," the Congress leader said.

"Secondly, post-matric scholarships for students from marginalised communities are plagued by delays and failures," Gandhi said and cited the example of Bihar where he claimed the scholarship portal was non-functional for three years and no student received a scholarship in 2021-22.

"Even thereafter, the number of Dalit students receiving scholarships fell by nearly half, from 1.36 lakh in FY23 to 0.69 lakh in FY24. Students further complain that the scholarship amounts are insultingly low," Gandhi said in his letter to Modi dated June 10.

"While I have cited examples from Bihar, these failures are widespread across the country. I urge the government to immediately take two actions to remedy these failures," he said.

Gandhi called for an audit of every hostel for students from Dalit, Scheduled Tribes (ST), Economically Backward Class (EBC), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minority communities to ensure good infrastructure, sanitation, food and academic facilities; and allocate adequate funds to address deficiencies.

He also appealed for disbursement of post-matric scholarships on time, increasing scholarship amounts, and improving execution by working closely with state governments.

"I am sure you agree that India cannot progress unless youth from marginalised communities progress. I look forward to your positive response," Gandhi said in his letter to Modi.

The issues were also raised at a joint press conference by Congress' SC department chief Rajendra Pal Gautam, Adivasi Congress chief Vikrant Bhuria and AICC NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar at the Congress' Indira Bhawan headquarters.

Kumar said Gandhi is continuously meeting students, employees and teachers from Dalit, backward, tribal, extremely backward and minority classes.

"Whenever we meet students from these classes, the first thing they say is that we do not get our scholarship on time. Scholarship drop out is very high in the country, because the government has made the entire scholarship process a punishment," Kumar said.

"Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to Prime Minister Modi on the scholarship of students, other problems and hostel conditions. However, what action the government takes on this will be known only in the coming time," he said.

Kumar said student suicide is a big issue in the country with two students committing suicide every hour.

"The government is continuously reducing the education budget. Apart from this, the money of SC/ST sub-plan is also being diverted by the governments," he said.

The result is that children are struggling for basic rights like education and this is a big injustice against the deprived class, Kumar said.

In his remarks at the presser, Gautam said, "Recently, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi visited Dr. Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga. Students from various hostels came and met him there. What Rahul Gandhi saw was very sad and heartbreaking. There he saw that 6-7 students live together in one room, toilets are in a very dirty condition, there is no arrangement for drinking water, there is no facility of books in the library, there is no internet facility, and there is no facility of good food." Gautam said.

Children of SC/ST, EBC and minority class are forced to study in very bad conditions, he claimed.

"'Even their scholarship is not given, because sometimes the server of the government portal is down, sometimes it does not work at all," he said.

Gautam also flagged the issue of suicides in hostels, saying biggest reason for this is the poor financial condition of many children, in which parents take loans at high interest rates for the child's education.

"Children think that they will study diligently, if they get scholarship, they will repay the loan taken for studies, but when the scholarship does not come, the loan keeps increasing, then the children come under pressure and take steps like committing suicide. It is sad that the government is not serious in this matter," he said.

Bhuria said the foundation of 'equal justice' in this country rests on the right to equal education.

"If we cannot provide equal education to children, then we cannot bring social revolution in the country. Today, the government is exploiting the children of SC, ST, OBC category by depriving them of education," he alleged. PTI ASK DV DV