
<p>Education remains the most decisive instrument for social mobility in India, particularly for communities historically marginalized in economic and political spheres. Among these, Muslims constituting 14.2 percent of the population, continue to grapple with structural disadvantages that impede their upward mobility. The Sachar Committee Report (2006) underscored the acute educational deprivation among Muslims, linking low literacy and poor access to quality schooling with entrenched poverty and limited representation in formal employment. Nearly two decades later, while progress is visible, the pace remains uneven and fraught with systemic challenges. Education is not merely a pathway to employment; it is the gateway to dignity, confidence, and participation in the national mainstream.</p>



<p>According to recent data from UDISEPlus (2024-25), the enrolment rate of Muslim students in school stands at 15.9%, a figure marginally higher than their population share. This suggests that more Muslims are attending primary school. However, retention declines sharply beyond secondary education, with higher secondary enrolment dropping to 11.9 percent. Gender disparities persist, though Muslim girls have shown commendable gains, recording a 45 percent increase in enrolment since 2014 under the influence of targeted schemes and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. However, the transition to higher education continues to be a significant challenge. The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) says that the number of Muslims in universities dropped from 5.5 percent in 2020 to 4.87 percent in 2021-22. This decline is because of both economic and social barriers. The dropout rate among Muslim students spikes at the secondary level, driven by early marriage, economic compulsions, and safety concerns, especially for girls.<br />Addressing<br />these requires a<br />multi-pronged approach: robust<br />implementation of NEP 2020, expansion of scholarships, digital inclusion, and targeted infrastructure development in minority-concentrated districts.</p>



<p>The reasons for the educational lag among Muslims are<br />multidimensional.<br />Poverty, residential segregation, and inadequate<br />infrastructure in minority-concentrated districts create a vicious cycle of exclusion. Many Muslim children begin their schooling in Urdu-medium institutions or madrasas, and the majority of madrassa graduates are unable to continue higher education due to financial and technical constraints. Therefore, a need arises to equip them with modern technology and innovation so that their graduates transit either to job markets or to institutions of higher learning on a competitive scale.<br />Initiatives from the government, like the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, aim close this gap by offering science, mathematics, and language training.<br />However, the reach of these programs remains limited, and bureaucratic hurdles dilute their impact.</p>



<p>Policy interventions have always been present to uplift the excluded and minority communities, and especially Indian Muslims have benefited from them. The Right to Education Act (2009) and NEP 2020 emphasize universal access and equity, while schemes like Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) target Muslim girls in educationally backward blocks.<br />Minority scholarships, free coaching programs such as Naya Savera, and vocational training under Jan Shikshan Sansthans have sought to enhance participation. In higher education, the Maulana Azad National Fellowship significantly contributed to the increase in enrolment. Its discontinuation signals a contraction in affirmative support, raising concerns about the prospects of minority education and making it necessary for the government to initiate a new minority-<br />centric scholarship scheme.</p>



<p>Despite societal impediments, stories of resilience abound, across India, Muslim students have been redefining success narratives through sheer determination and community and government support. The Rahmani-30 initiative in Bihar exemplifies this transformation, guiding and coaching students from marginalized backgrounds for participating in the IT-JEE competitive exams. Since its inception, it has enabled dozens of aspirants to secure seats in premier engineering institutions, challenging stereotypes of educational stagnation. Similarly, Crescent Civil Service Academy in Delhi has successfully produced over a hundred civil servants, demonstrating a bridge between aspiration and achievement. These efforts underscore the catalytic role of community-led institutions in supplementing state initiatives. Musa Kaleem from Assam, scoring 99.97 percentile in NEET UG 2024, and Amina Arif Kadiwala, an Urdu-medium student excelling in the same exam, represent a new generation of Muslim achievers who navigate linguistic and economic barriers to compete nationally. Women like Maryam Afifa Ansari, India&#8217;s first female Muslim neurosurgeon, symbolize the breaking of gendered ceilings within the community. These narratives are not isolated triumphs; they reflect a growing consciousness that education is indispensable for empowerment.</p>



<p>Education is not merely a private benefit for individual advancement; it is a public good that shapes collective futures. For Indian Muslims, it is the only viable path to deconstruct the framework of marginalization and assert their involvement in the nation&#8217;s developmental dialogue. The community is striving for quality education, manifest in grassroots mobilization, institutional innovation, and aspirational shifts, signals a quiet revolution. The Indian government is showing substantive engagement, ensuring that constitutional guarantees translate into lived realities. Civil society, too, sustains its momentum, forging partnerships that democratize access to knowledge. Education should be viewed as a collective commitment to justice rather than charity, emphasizing the importance of affirmative actions in developing capabilities.</p>



<p>Dr. Muhammad Salim, Research Associate,<br>Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)</p>

Education the Only Gateway to Mobility for Muslims
