A government investigation found that 830 of 1,572 minority institutions receiving scholarships were either fake or non-operational, according to reports.
The 'scam' was spread over 100 districts across 34 states and Union Territories and the investigation has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigatoin (CBI), according to reports.
The real number of fraudalent institutions could be much higher as only 1,572 institutions were looked into. The total number of minority institutions in the country receiving government scholarships is around 1.8 lakh.
The matter first came to light in 2020 when the first round of FIRs were filed across states. Then, in the second round of investigation, the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA) assigned the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to look into discrepencies in August 2022, reported The Indian Express, adding that the yearlong NCAER investigation found that 830 of the 1,572 flagged institutions were either fake or non-operational.
The 'scam' involves the siphoning of around Rs 144 crore of scholarship meant for poor minority community students, reported India Today.
What did the invsetigation find?
The internal investigation by the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA) found 830 of the 1,572 institutions looked into were fake or non-operational.
These 1,572 institutions were in 100 districts found to have high-risk of fradalent activities, according to The Indian Express.
Some the major findings of the investigation, as per The Express, are:
- All 62 minority institutions in Chhattisgarh were found non-operational, followed by 99 out of 128 in Rajasthan.
- In Assam, 68 per cent institutions were found to be fake or non-operational. The percentage was 64 in Karnataka, 60 in Uttarakhand, 44 in Uttar Pradesh, 40 in Madhya Pradesh, and 39 in West Bengal.
- There were 1.3 lakh applications for hostels in institutions that did not have hostels.
- Male beneficiaries were receiving scholarships in girls-only institutions.
- In Rajasthan, applications for scholarships for students of classes 1-7 were filed when the school actually had only classes 9-10.
- In Bihar's Sitamarhi, 95 per cent applicants were found to be fake. Details of fake applicants were taken from a coaching centre and applications were filed from an internet cafe.
- In one case in Chhattisgarh, applications were filed from a school that had no minority students. The details of applicant students actually turned out to be of students from Karnataka.
- In 2018-19, 2,239 applicants had the same phone number.
Additioanlly, the investigation found that nodal officers were granting scholarships without verifying details on the ground and, as a result, genuine applicants or needy students were deprived of the scholarship, reported India Today.
The investigation was handed over to the CBI on July 10.
CBI to look into multiple levels of scam: Reports
There are at least two levels involved in the filing of applications and grant of scholarships.
In the first level, nodal officer appointed at every minority institution verifies the details of the student and uploads the application on the portal.
In the second level, the district minority officer verifies these filings.
Despite these multiple levels involved, the fact that such a wideranging scam was taking place suggests there was a systemic siphoning of funds and the 'scam' was not just isolated to few institutions or districts.
"Moreover, each student also has to open a bank account for which a KYC [Know Your Customer] is required. This entire process points to systemic institutionalised corruption involving institutes, the local administration and banks," said a ministry source to The Express.
Separately, The Economic Times reported that 229 nodal officers in the institutions turned out to be fake.
The CBI is understood to probe all these officers at various levels, from institutes to banks.
The government became suspicious when it scrapped scholarship for classes 1-7 of around 4 million students. The government expected backlash but nothing happened.
"In July 2022, the union government stopped the scholarship given to minority students, totalling around 4 million, from Class I to Class VIII. The government had expected a major backlash, but since that didn't happen, officials got suspicious and an investigation was conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)," reported ET, further adding that most of the institutions (and hence most of the scholarship amount disbursed) turned out to be fake.
In the first round of investigation in 2020, the CBI investigated the matter in Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, and Chhattisgarh. Several FIRs were filed across states at the time.
