The Karnataka Government allows Muslim Educational Institutions to enrol a minimum percentage of students from their community to secure the religious minority status. The minimum minority tag policy does not apply to religious minorities, Christians, Jains, and Parsis.
The Karnataka Government, while renewing its stance on the religious status of minority institutions, exempted Muslim Education Institutions from the minimum 25% student admission policy. This policy requires the institutions to have a minimum number of students from their community to secure the minority position.
The National Commission for Minority Educational Act of Article 30(1) of the Constitution has been enacted to safeguard the educational rights of minorities. The Act defines ‘Minority Institution’ as “Minority Educational Institution” means a college or institution (other than a University) established or maintained by a person or group of persons from amongst the minorities”
Earlier, the Higher education and Technical institutions in Karnataka for religious minorities had to maintain 50% of students from their own religious community to secure minority status. Later, in 2024, the State government scrapped this policy as institutions from the Christian, Jain, and Parsi communities found it difficult to find that large a number of students from their community. The decision has granted the minority tag to several institutions.
However, Muslim Minority Institutions have opposed the policy, saying that they have enough students from their community to enrol, and the relaxation could mean non-minority students outnumbering minority students. Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan raised this concern, leading the Government to exempt Muslims from the enrollment policy, granting a ‘religious minority’ tag to Muslim Educational Institutions.
