Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has drawn criticism after issuing an order that exempts Muslim-run schools and colleges from the student-quota requirement for the ‘religious minority institution’ tag, a benefit not extended to other communities.
Under the policy in place until March 2024, Christian, Jain and Parsi institutions had to admit at least 25 per cent of their own community’s students to qualify for minority status. Higher education, technical and skill development institutions faced a 50 per cent threshold. Authorities relaxed these rules last year, citing difficulty in meeting quotas for smaller religious groups. Yet, in a follow-up order, only Muslim institutions were formally relieved of any fixed quota.
The change came after Siddaramaiah’s political secretary, MLC Naseer Ahmed, petitioned the state government in December 2023. Ahmed argued that minorities, except Muslims, struggled to fill the required seats. Citing the 2011 census, the government noted that minorities make up just over 16 per cent of Karnataka’s population: 78.94 lakh Muslims, 11.43 lakh Christians, 4.4 lakh Jains, 95,000 Buddhists, 28,000 Sikhs and 1,100 Parsis.
“Because the population of these communities is low, finding the required percentage of students for the declaration of religious minority educational institutions is difficult,” the order stated.
However, Muslim-run colleges and schools protested the blanket exemption. At a November 2023 cabinet meeting, Minority Welfare Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan relayed their concern that they already met or exceed the quota. They warned that lifting the requirement could allow non-Muslim students to outnumber community members on their campuses, undermining their minority character.
Legal activist Advocate CR Imteyaz has challenged the policy in the Karnataka High Court. “The government’s policy of exempting only Muslim education institutions from the minority-tag rules is incorrect and does not follow the Constitution,” he said. Imteyaz noted that the Constitution does not prescribe any admission quota for minority institutions. “How can a state government dictate a specific percentage of admissions to secure that status?” he asked, urging the administration to withdraw the exemption.
The Siddaramaiah government maintains that the March 2024 decision was meant to address all minorities but was later revised to remove Muslims from the quota relief. Critics say this creates a two-tier system and goes against the principle of equal treatment for all minority communities.
As the High Court considers Imteyaz’s petition, minority groups across Karnataka are watching closely. Their outcome could reshape how religious minority institutions operate and admit students in the state.
