In a startling revelation, 27 per cent of minority students in Uttar Pradesh have been found to be missing during the biometric verification process for scholarships and fee reimbursement under the Union Minority Welfare Ministry’s scheme.

“The biometric verification process, which utilised Aadhaar data for validation, has exposed a concerning number of students missing in various districts across the state, including Moradabad, Kushinagar, Sitapur, Bijnor, Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar. This discovery has prompted the state government to initiate an investigation into the root causes of these discrepancies,” a senior official in the Minority Welfare department said.

The Union Minority Welfare Ministry had mandated biometric verification for students applying for scholarships and fee reimbursement in the 2022-23 academic year. This decision was made in response to irregularities uncovered during preliminary investigations, with the added stipulation that payments would only be disbursed to students after successful verification.

In Uttar Pradesh, a total of 3,59,659 students had applied for scholarships and fee reimbursement for the specified financial year. Of these applicants, a staggering 97,463 students failed to complete the mandatory biometric verification by the given deadline. The scale of non-compliance with the verification process was particularly pronounced in various districts.

In Moradabad, out of 46,211 students, 12,161 did not undergo the biometric verification process. Likewise, 5,630 students in Kushinagar, 4,073 in Sitapur, 6,738 in Bijnor, 3,726 in Basti, 4,228 in Farrukhabad, 4,416 in Gonda and 3,339 in Sant Kabir Nagar did not participate in the verification process. Alarmingly, the situation was equally dire in districts such as Auraiya, Ambedkar Nagar, Saharanpur, Unnao, Meerut, Amroha, Rampur, Sambhal and Aligarh.

There are currently 4,483 pending applications at the institute level and 231 pending applications at the district nodal officer level for biometric verification.

“The large number of missing minority students during the biometric verification process has raised concerns about potential fraudulent activities, prompting the state government to take proactive measures to address this issue and ensure that deserving students receive the financial support they need to pursue their education,” the official said.