UPSC Results: Why Jamia Milia’s Government-Funded Residential Coaching Academy Is Being Accused Of Discrimination

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on May 30 announced the names of candidates who cleared the Civil Services Examination, in 2021. The exam was topped by Shruti Sharma from Delhi. Sharma, elaborating on her exam preparation, said that she studied at JNU briefly, before getting admission into Jamia Milia’s Residential Coaching Academy (RCA).

The Academy, funded by University Grants Commission, prepares aspirations for civil service exams, including junior services of staff selection commission exams.

However, as per the eligibility criteria, only students belonging to minorities, SC/STs and women can get admission (Here is an admission notification). The coaching programme, run by the University, began in 2010, during the UPA era, under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

It began on the recommendation of the Sachar Committee to uplift and increase the proportion of candidates in central and state services amongst Minorities, SCs, STs and women. The candidates are selected through a written test, followed by a group discussion and interview.

Only four universities, namely, Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, Jamia Hamdard, MANUU in Hyderabad and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, other than Jamia Millia Islamia, are part of the programme. It is not clear why only five universities are enrolled in the programme.

The majority of the candidates from the minority segment are Muslims. Candidates, who are Madrasa educated, are also part of the programme.

The only group barred from seeking admission are Hindu upper caste males.

While private coaching centres charge lakhs of rupees from the aspirants, those enrolled in RCA receive coaching free of cost. However, those who apply for the programme, do not necessarily, belong to economically weaker sections of the society.

This raises the question as to why taxpayers’ money is being directed to train aspirants from, even, well-to-do families for civil service exams, that too, free of cost.

In the RCA programme, not only can the admission process be termed ‘discriminatory’ towards a section of the society but can also be accused of promoting one religious minority at the cost of others. No other such government-funded coaching programmes discriminate on the basis of religion.

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