Hyderabad: Only about two per cent of Muslims in the Old City are postgraduates or have had engineering or allied technical education, stated a study by Osmania University research scholars.
The study also claimed that about a third of the Muslims in the Old City were self-employed in some form of trade while a fifth of them were unemployed youth or students.
The study was carried out by S. Mohiuddin, a research scholar in the department of political science, OU. The Telangana government has also formed a committee to study the socio-economic conditions of Muslims and legal aspects of the issue.
The study covered a sample survey from the Old City with respondents answering queries on education and religious hindrances.
‘30 per cent muslims drop out due to religion’
The study conducted a Osmania University research scholars claimed that about 30 per cent of the Muslims surveyed said religious beliefs kept them away from education while just about half of the respondents believed religious beliefs were not linked with education.
Also, about 63 per cent respondents thought that there was no issue in sending girls for higher education while 30 per cent thought that girls should not pursue higher education for fear of anti-social elements.
Even at the national level, Muslims have been shown to lag behind when it comes to education.
As per the Sachar Committee report, only about 1.3 per cent of students in IIMs are Muslims while in IITs it is about 5 per cent. About 60 per cent of Muslims are self-employed while in civil services, they constitute just 3.2 per cent and 3.3 per cent in central government organisations.
