Abdullah Sohail questions minority education funds use

Hyderabad: BRS senior leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail has intensified criticism of the Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, alleging serious lapses in the utilisation of minority education funds.

Sohail said the government had promised a Rs. 4,000 crore minorities welfare budget along with a dedicated sub-plan to ensure full utilisation. However, he stated that the actual spending tells a different story. According to him, funds meant for education and welfare remain largely unutilised.

Minority education funds show sharp underutilisation across key schemes

He cited official figures for 2025–26, highlighting that under the Maintenance of Charges/Fees (MTF) scheme, Rs. 120 crore was allocated and released, yet only Rs. 1.20 crore was spent. Similarly, under the Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF), Rs. 300 crore was allocated, but only Rs. 68.88 crore was utilised. He also pointed out that the Pre-Matric scholarship scheme recorded zero expenditure despite allocation.

Moreover, Sohail said several academic support programmes are nearly non-functional. For instance, Rs. 4 crore allocated for coaching through study circles saw expenditure of only Rs. 0.03 crore. Training and Employment schemes recorded spending of Rs. 5.02 crore out of Rs. 30 crore. In addition, Urdu Academy and related institutions utilised Rs. 2.04 crore out of Rs. 12 crore, while another segment showed no spending.

He further stated that major welfare programmes also reflected weak execution. Shaadi Mubarak recorded expenditure of Rs. 284.79 crore against an allocation of Rs. 650 crore. The Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme, with an allocation of Rs. 840 crore, saw no expenditure. Under TSMFC welfare schemes, only Rs. 0.83 crore was spent out of Rs. 150 crore.

Sohail said these figures indicate a disconnect between budget announcements and implementation. He compared the current performance with the previous BRS government, stating that utilisation had reached 94.50% in 2019–20 and 96.96% in 2022–23. In contrast, he claimed utilisation dropped to 53.48% in 2024–25 and further to 49.65% in 2025–26.

He added that the slowdown began in 2023–24 after the change in government. Out of Rs. 1,755.29 crore total expenditure, Rs. 1,155.75 crore was spent before December 6, while Rs. 599.54 crore was spent afterward.

Sohail demanded accountability, stating that minority students are being deprived of scholarships, fee reimbursements, and training opportunities due to the failure to utilise allocated funds.