Maharashtra Lifts Eight-Month Freeze on Minority Status for Schools

The Maharashtra government on Thursday revoked an eight-month suspension on granting religious and linguistic minority status to educational institutions, designating the administrative head of the minority development department to issue the certificates. The decision comes after the process was frozen in February following a controversy over clearances issued immediately after the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

Under the directive issued by the state minority development department, the authority to approve minority status has been assigned to a senior bureaucrat serving as the administrative head, such as an additional chief secretary, principal secretary, or secretary. The order noted that the measure is expected to bring uniformity and transparency to the process, ensure the time-bound disposal of pending applications, and effectively implement the verification of certificates.

The state had placed the certification process on hold after it emerged that 75 institutions across Maharashtra were granted minority status within three days of Pawar dying in a plane crash on January 28. Pawar held the minority development portfolio at the time of his death. His widow, Sunetra Pawar, who succeeded him as deputy chief minister, currently oversees the minority development department.

Alongside the February suspension, the state government instituted an inquiry led by B Venugopal Reddy, the additional chief secretary of the higher and technical education department. Authorities also removed Milind Padmanabh Shenoy, the deputy secretary of the minority development department, after his digital signature was used on the expedited certificates.

Among the 75 institutions cleared during the contentious period in late January were 25 schools operated by Podar International School, which were approved on January 29. The clearances also covered schools managed by St Xavier’s institutions, as well as educational establishments run by trusts linked to spiritual leaders Swami Shanti Prakash and Swami Devprakash.

Securing religious and linguistic minority status confers substantial regulatory, administrative, and financial advantages to schools in Maharashtra. Beneficiary institutions are exempt from the 25% admission quota mandated under the Right to Education Act and from certain caste-based reservation requirements, while gaining greater autonomy in staff hiring, admissions, and internal administration. The state has also incentivised institutions by raising annual financial assistance for minority schools from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh.