Left behind in classrooms: What decades of data reveal about Muslim education in India

India’s commitment to universal education, reflected in its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, often centres on enrolment. But a deeper look at long-term data reveals persistent gaps in educational access and outcomes among Muslims, gaps that have remained strikingly consistent over time.

The Sachar Committee Report, submitted in 2006, was the first comprehensive attempt to document this disparity. It found that Muslims lagged behind the national average in literacy and had significantly lower participation in higher education, despite being one of the country’s largest communities.

A key concern flagged was early dropout: a substantial number of Muslim students left school before completing secondary education, often due to financial constraints and limited institutional access.

Subsequent evaluations confirmed these were not short-term trends. The Ranganath Misra Commission (2007) of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities pointed to the need for targeted interventions, including financial assistance and state-supported educational schemes, to address the combined effects of economic and educational disadvantage among minorities.

It argued that without sustained support, existing inequalities would continue to reproduce themselves across generations.

Nearly a decade later, the Kundu Committee Report (2014) set up by the Government of India to evaluate the implementation of Sachar Committee recommendations found that while enrolment among Muslims had improved at the primary level, retention remained a challenge.

The report noted that dropout rates rose sharply after middle school, limiting students’ transition to secondary education and, ultimately, their participation in higher education.

Recent datasets reinforce these patterns: the National Sample Survey (2017–18) shows that Muslims have lower educational attainment than most other religious groups, with a literacy rate of 74.3% compared to the national average of 77.7%, fewer average years of schooling, and a disproportionately low share in higher education (around 5% of enrolment despite a 14.2% population share).

While data from UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education) (2024-25) indicate that dropout rates rise sharply at the secondary level (around 12–17% nationally), pointing to systemic barriers in retention and progression.

Data further underlines the persistence of these gaps across stages of education. According to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2020–21, Muslim enrolment in higher education declined from 5.5% (21 lakh students) in 2019–20 to 4.6% (19.21 lakh) in 2020–21, marking a significant reversal after several years of gradual increase.

At the same time, AISHE data shows that the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for Muslims dropped from 9.8% to 8.9%, indicating weakening access relative to the eligible population. School-level data show a similar pattern of attrition. Based on Unified District Information System for Education trends, Muslim representation declines steadily as students move up the system, from 14.4% at upper primary (Classes 6–8) to 12.6% at secondary (Classes 9–10) and further to 10.7% at higher secondary (Classes 11–12). In some states with large Muslim populations, dropout rates remain particularly high, exceeding 20% in parts of eastern India, according to UDISE analyses.

It is within this context that scholarship programmes have historically played a crucial role. Designed to support students at key transition points, from secondary school to college, and into professional and research programmes, these schemes have functioned as enabling mechanisms for first-generation learners.

However, several of these support systems have either been curtailed or remain uncertain in their implementation. As highlighted in our recent report, Allocations for key schemes such as the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship have seen steep reductions, while others, including the Maulana Azad National Fellowship, have been discontinued for new applicants. In some cases, large budgetary allocations have remained underutilised, pointing to gaps not just in funding but in delivery.

Scholars argue that these shifts reflect deeper structural concerns. Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita at Jawaharlal Nehru University, has described recent budgetary trends as part of a broader “structural exclusion”, while Salman Khurshid, former Union Minister of Minority Affairs, has emphasised that targeted scholarship schemes were introduced precisely to address historically documented disadvantages.

Published – March 23, 2026 01:13 pm IST