Even after the formation of a new government in Maharashtra, the Minority Development Department’s official portal remains riddled with outdated information, raising concerns about administrative neglect. Following a report by The Free Press Journal on the inaccuracy of the website, which had continued to list Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister despite the change in leadership, the error was corrected to reflect Devendra Fadnavis. However, in yet another glaring oversight, the portal still names Abdul Sattar as the Minority Development Minister, even though Dattatray Vithoba Bharne has assumed the role in the new cabinet.

This continued lapse has drawn criticism from students and activists, who argue that the government’s apathy towards minority students is evident. "If a basic task like updating ministerial names is being ignored for months, it raises serious questions about whether key initiatives like the foreign education scholarship are being managed with any sincerity at all. Even after the updation, the name of the Minority Development Minister stays incorrect. It reflects that the department is working on an autopilot,” said Kuldeep Ambekar, president of Student Helping Hand.

As reported by this Newspaper on Tuesday, beyond the issue of outdated information, the Social Welfare Department, which is responsible for implementing the study abroad scholarship programme for minority students, is yet to release the final list of 75 selected candidates. This delay persists despite three separate advertisements being issued, the most recent of which was published last week.

The scholarship, which aims to provide financial aid to economically disadvantaged minority students for overseas education, has instead been marred by delays and inefficiency. Students who applied months ago remain in the dark, with no communication from the department regarding the status of their applications. The initial deadline for submitting applications set by the department was December 31. 

Ambekar criticised the government’s handling of the process, stating, "This is the first year of the foreign education scholarship, yet it has been managed in the most careless manner. The Social Justice Department completed verification and sent the final list to the ministry over a month ago. Why has it not been announced yet?"

With the academic year fast approaching, scholarship applicants face mounting uncertainty. “I applied for the scholarship in the last week of December as December 31 was the deadline. But, through this newspaper, I came to know that another advertisement was released last week. What about the students who applied earlier? There is no clarification on when the department will release the list of selected candidates,” said one student. “This will affect our admissions and visas,” the student added.