Tamil Nadu offers full college fee support for Muslim women under quota

Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare A M Shahjahan on Thursday announced a set of welfare measures, financial support schemes and infrastructure projects for minority communities in the state.

The measures include full undergraduate tuition fee support for Muslim female students admitted under the government quota, an expanded scholarship scheme for schoolgirls, a new women’s college in Chennai, an interest-free revolving fund for community properties, and skill development training for minority youth.

During the debate on the demand for grants for his department, Shahjahan told the House that, in a major push for female literacy, the government will fully cover undergraduate tuition fees for Muslim female students admitted under the government quota in government, government-aided and self-financing institutions offering arts, science, engineering, medicine, agriculture and law courses.

An initial allocation of Rs 20 crore has been made for the scheme. He also said the existing Wakf Board scholarship for Muslim girls in Classes 1 to 8 has been extended to students in Classes 9 and 10, with an annual grant of Rs 2,000. The scheme will benefit 41,384



schoolgirls at a cost of Rs 8.28 crore.

He said, “To further promote higher education access in the capital, the Tamil Nadu Wakf Board will establish a new dedicated Minorities Women’s Arts and Science College in Chennai with a starting grant of Rs 2.45 crore”, and added, “the state will set up a Rs 100 crore revolving fund to offer interest-free loans aimed at developing income-generating assets such as commercial complexes and marriage halls on Muslim Wakf and Christian religious properties”.

Shahjahan also said modern skill development training aligned with current market needs will be provided to 10,000 minority youth over four years through the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation. He said, “Training modules will cover Information Technology, Automobile, Apparel Designing, Beauty and Wellness, Embroidery, and Agriculture across all districts to promote self-employment and elevate family living standards”.

The announcements made in the House cover education support for Muslim girls and women, new infrastructure for higher education, financial assistance for income-generating community assets, and skill training for minority youth across Tamil Nadu.