"Following Due Procedure": Government On Shutting Down Maulana Azad Education Foundation

The Central Government today informed the Parliament that the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) was closed following the due procedure. The Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijuju said it was done to avoid duplication and extra cost to the exchequer.

He also added that all eligible students including Muslims would continue to benefit under the Schemes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

The minister was responding to a question asked by Trinamool Congress MP Mohammed Nadimul Haque in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The ministry has also informed that in 2022-23 and 2023-24, the MAFE was not allocated any funds. However, the funds allocated to the organization in 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 were 37.50 crores, 70.92 crores, and 76 crores respectively.

The Delhi High Court has also upheld the center’s decision to dissolve the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAFE) in a petition filed by Syed Saiyidain Hameed (Grandniece of Maulana Azad), Daya Singh and John Dayal. The bench observed that the meeting of the general body found significant irregularities in its operation.

The Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAFE) was founded by the Central Waqf Council which reported conspicuous financial discrepancies in the audit of the ministry of minority affairs.

Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF)

The foundation was established in 1989 to support the educationally backward minority community and was named after the first educational minister of independent India Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

The foundation was funded by the minority ministry, the government of India, the foundation has been providing financial assistance such as scholarships and grants to six notified minority communities — Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Parsi, and Sikh — to pursue MPhils and PhDs.