Voicing concern over the level of participation of minority children in education, an official panel has said that the percentage of Muslim community students is “insignificant” in educational institutions. It has suggested the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) issue advice to the state governments that minority community girls should be preferentially admitted in schools.
The panel has also favored setting up of model degree colleges in 90 minority-concentrated districts with full central assistance to the states.
“One college may be established in each such district which may offer courses in science, humanities and commerce,” the Standing Committee of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education suggested in its report presented to the HRD Ministry recently.
The report emphasized on the need for an efficient system of data collection to know the actual situation of minority education in the country while noting that data of enrolment of minority children was not available. The report merely referred to a study based on 2007-08 data which revealed that gross attendance ratio of Muslim minority was only 8.7 per cent as compared to 16.8 per cent in case of non-Muslims.
Quality of teaching being key for minority education, the report pressed for better incentives to teachers for promoting quality education in Madrasas.
It said salary of graduate teachers under the scheme for promoting quality education in Madrasas should be enhanced from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 and post graduate teachers from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000.
Examination fee should be waived for Madrassa students opting for examinations conducted by National Institute of Open Schooling and on passing out, they should be given a cash incentive of Rs 1,000 so that more students can be attracted to take the examination, it said.
Espousing the cause of education of minority girls, the committee recommended opening of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in all districts where population of religious minorities is more than 10 per cent.
It suggested that preference may be given to blocks where there is a higher percentage of Muslims for opening model schools. The committee expressed regret that only 454 of the 3,501 Balika Vidyalayas in operation have enrolment of more than 20 per cent Muslim children.
On the issue of uplift of minority education in general, the committee strongly advocated that at least 10 per cent of the proposed 2,500 model schools (250 schools) should be reserved for religious minorities.
This apart, it suggested that two schools on the lines of Navodaya Vidyalayas may be opened in each of the 90 minority concentrated districts.
“Help of local NGOs may be taken to attract minority children so that the benefit of these schools can be accrued to the local minority community,” it said.
‘Most Sachar Committee recommendations implemented’. Meanwhile, Union Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan today said most of the recommendations by Sachar Committee have been implemented by the Centre.
As many as 67 Sachar Committee recommendations have already been implemented and only three are pending. Efforts are on to implement these suggestions also, he said, without elaborating.
The panel was set up in 2005 by the UPA government to prepare a report on the latest social, economic and educational condition of the Muslim community in the country. It was headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar.
The government is in the process of forming a committee to monitor use of Central funds given to the states, Khan said.
The minister was speaking at a religious function here.
–PTI