Activists decry HCI move to reduce coaching facility seats for Muslim students

Several activists in Jalna in Maharashtra on Saturday claimed the Haj Committee of India (HCI) had slashed the number of seats in its residential coaching facility for Muslim students planning to appear for competitive exams and said the move would harm the community. The facility, at Haj House in Mumbai, used to train 200 students for civil exams per year since 2015 but has now reduced the intake to 100, said Haj Committee Jalna district president Shakil Khan.

Maharashtra Waqf Board chairman and MLC Dr Wajhat Mirza also condemned the move and said he would take up the matter with Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Such a decision would hamper the progress of Muslims, which already face adverse education and economic conditions, said AM Deshmukh, president of All Maharashtra Minority Education Societies and Teachers Organsations.

Jamaat-e- Islami Hind's Maharashtra unit general secretary Shaikh Mujeeb said the performance of Muslims in civil services exams had improved after the facility had started and reducing the number of seats would be counter productive.

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