The educational empowerment of minorities, particularly Muslims in India, has historically remained neglected. The Sachar Committee Report (2006) highlighted this deprivation, and the situation of Muslims in Andhra Pradesh is no exception. According to the 2011 Census, their literacy rate lags the state average, while school dropout rates in 2021-22 were 1.6 times higher than the national average. These statistics reflect the systemic challenges faced by the community in accessing equitable education.
Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, the Urdu-speaking minority community of Andhra Pradesh raised a strong demand for institutions that could preserve the Urdu language and culture while expanding higher education opportunities. In response, the state government established Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University at Kurnool and presented as a symbolic step to address the educational aspirations of minorities.
Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University, envisioned with the primary objective of promoting and developing the Urdu language, was established to impart education and training in vocational and technical fields through the Urdu medium. It was also intended to widen access for those aspiring to pursue higher education in Urdu. However, the university today is struggling to uphold these very objectives. This article seeks to examine the present condition, academic standards, and uncertain future of the only Urdu university in Andhra Pradesh.
The government of Andhra Pradesh committed a major misstep when it introduced the Urdu University Bill under the A.P. State Legislature Act of 2016. The institution was initially named after Moulvi Abdul Haq, a renowned scholar from Pakistan, instead of Dr. Abdul Haq, the eminent educationist from Kurnool who had dedicated his life to uplifting the Muslim community during the Madras Presidency. Celebrated as the “Sir Syed of the South,”Dr.Haq was instrumental in founding at least six reputable educational institutions across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. Following strong criticism from Muslim intellectuals, the government corrected this error and issued a 2018 gazette notification renaming it as Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University, attributing the earlier reference to a clerical mistake.
The state government had allocated 144 acres of land for the permanent campus of Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University at Orvakal on the Kurnool Nandyal Highway (NH-40) through GO.MS.No.79. Initially, around 18 crores were sanctioned for its construction, but only a fraction of this amount has been released over the years. As a result, construction has remained stalled for the past five years. Adding to the crisis, the prime location of the allotted land, marked by rising land values, tourism activity, and its strategic position, has made it highly vulnerable to land-grabbing attempts.
A major challenge confronting the university today is the inadequacy of infrastructure and basic facilities. Until recently, the institution operated from a rented building before shifting to temporary premises at the old Government Boys’ Degree College campus. However, the facility lacks even fundamental amenities such as a boys’ hostel, forcing male students from across the state to struggle with arranging accommodation in nearby hostels or private lodgings. Furthermore, the temporary campus suffers from insufficient classrooms, an absence of science laboratories, and limited library resources, severely constraining the academic environment and learning opportunities for its students.
Research opportunities and the overall quality of education at Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University are being severely hampered by inadequate funding. The institution remains heavily dependent on government support, but the meagre and irregular financial allocations have created multiple challenges, including a shortage of faculty, a lack of essential academic resources, and difficulty in meeting operational expenses. With such constraints, managing the university efficiently has become an uphill task.
The quality of higher education largely depends on the strength and stability of its faculty. However, the university is grappling with both recruitment and retention of qualified, experienced teachers. An acute shortage of permanent faculty has left the institution struggling to diversify its academic programmes or sustain meaningful research initiatives. Alarmingly, nearly 90-95% of the teaching and non-teaching staff are employed on a contractual basis, further weakening the university’s academic foundation and undermining its long-term prospects.
The university lacks career development and soft skills programmes that are crucial for students’ personal growth and for preparing them to navigate diverse career and job opportunities. As a result, many students find themselves in a career dilemma. Furthermore, due to the absence of in-house laboratory and practical facilities, students are often forced to travel to other institutions to complete essential practical sessions, which further disrupts their academic experience.
The lack of infrastructure, inadequate facilities, and the failure to provide a modern, efficient learning environment, along with the absence of proper career-building platforms, have had a direct impact on admissions. Although the university has an intake capacity of around 500 students across 13 courses, enrolments have sharply declined by 40-60% over the past two academic years. In 2022-23, most courses recorded only 25-40 students each which is further dropped to 10-20 students in 2024-2025. If this trend continues, it may ultimately lead to the shutting down of certain academic programmes, defeating the very purpose of establishing the university.
Although officially designated as an Urdu university, in practice, it is failing to fulfil its founding objectives. The institution was established to promote and develop the Urdu language and to provide education and training in vocational and technical fields through the medium of Urdu. However, the reality is quite the opposite: most courses are taught in English, study materials in Urdu are largely unavailable, and examinations are seldom attempted in Urdu, despite the option being available. This constitutes a grave injustice to the very core mission of the university and undermines its role in preserving and advancing the Urdu language.
The future of Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University remains uncertain due to a combination of challenges, including inadequate funding, lack of government attention, absence of a permanent campus, poor infrastructure and facilities, alarming declines in student enrolment, failure to recruit permanent faculty, and a departure from its founding principle of imparting education through the Urdu medium. Addressing these issues is imperative if the university is to realise its true potential. With proper support and corrective measures, it can uphold its linguistic and academic identity, promote the Urdu language and culture, and emerge as a centre of high-quality education for students from minority and marginalised communities.