The Haj Committee of India’s (HCI) decision to reduce the number of seats of the Residential Coaching Institute for Civil Services that it runs in Mumbai for Muslim students has drawn criticism from various Muslim organisations.
The HCI, which was training 200 Muslim students every year from 2015 till last year to help them prepare for civil services exams, has this year decided to reduce its seats to only 100 – half of the total number. It has also stated that only freshers can avail training and all repeaters are to vacate the facility.
The Maharashtra Activists Forum – a group of activists across the state fighting for the cause of social justice and minority rights – has sent a memorandum to the HCI CEO seeking that the services for the welfare of deserving students from the community be restored.
According to them, this facility offered by the HCI has been instrumental in increasing the number of Muslim candidates clearing civil service exams. And reducing the number of seats to half will hamper civil service plans of many youngsters.
The residential coaching facility, when started in 2009, had 50 seats until 2015. After that, the number gradually increased to 200 till last year.
Candidates were selected on the basis of merit, following an entrance test. They would have to pay Rs 15,000 as deposit for the stay and Rs 4,000 for food, which also had a subsidy over it. The coaching centre would run in association with a training agency for civil services.
“Things started to change since the new CEO took over last October. Initially, the subsidy for food was canceled. Then the number of students in one batch was restricted to 50. After some activists started raising their voices, it was increased to 100 seats. But 37 students, who just appeared for UPSC Main exam on January 16, were asked to vacate the facility. Preparations continue until the interview procedure, how can they ask students to leave at this juncture?” asked Junaid Attar, a social activist from Latur, who is one of the multiple signatories on the memorandum sent to the HCI.
He added that allowing students to access coaching only for one year is not adequate for civil service preparation. “Considering this, deserving candidates were allowed to continue their stay. This would result in batches with a combination of freshers and seniors, which was helpful for students. Freshers could learn from seniors. Moreover, those who have cleared the tests and are officers now were called to guide these batches. All this has stopped,” Attar added.
Amjat Shaikh, founder of Tipu Sultan Foundation in Chandrapur, who is also among the signatories, said there was significant increase in the number of Muslim students clearing civil service exams due to this facility.
“From merely 2 per cent to 5 per cent of the population is a great increase. It is important to note that this facility was the only option for many Muslim candidates across Maharashtra, especially women for whom it was difficult to stay anywhere else for civil service preparations. Families trust Haj House; they feel their children will be safe there,” said Shaikh.
Of the 37 students who have been asked to leave, 15 are women.
The HCI authorities, however, said that the number of seats have been reduced as per existing rules.
“The batch has approval for only 100 candidates a year from the ministry,” said Yaqoob Shaikh, CEO of HCI. Asked how 200 students were being coached every year since 2015, Shaikh said that he has no inkling of how it was allowed. “I have no knowledge how the number of students was increased in the previous years.”
He also said that those who had been asked to vacate had been staying in the premises for a number of years.
“Those who were asked to vacate have been staying at the Haj House for years. The facility is only for a year and we expect these candidates to clear the exam and vacate the facility for the newer batch’s benefit,” Shaikh said.
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