Muslim & Education

The National Seminar on Minority Education held on March 7 and 8 here under the aegis of CEPECAMI proved to be a big hit with as many as 250 delegates participating and around 50 presenting papers. It proved a grand rendezvous for the representatives from northern state to share and learn from experiments being made in the South Indian States. Twice postponed, the seminar was eagerly awaited by several section of the minorities as it was for the first time that educational priorities and issues were to be discussed threadbare. We briefly report the proceedings:

K. Rahman Khan,
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha
We need to relaunch the Aligarh Movement which AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan has envisioned to modernize and reform the Muslims of India. There is no point in shifting responsibility on others or Government. We should target at setting up at least one university in each state. It presupposes setting up a network of secondary schools. The Joint Parliamentary Committee under my chairmanship has said that if only 2000 acres of wakf property in urban areas could be developed commercially, we can raise Rs. 10,000 crore for development of the community. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made allocation of Rs. 30 crore for satellite mapping, digitizing of wakf properties in the country through National Informatics Corpn. I suggest setting up a National Task Force for educational development of Muslims of India.

Dr. P. K. Abdul Aziz,
Vice chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University
The AMU would like to make a strong bond with the Muslim minority educational institutions all over the country. We need to establish at least 15 universities to cater to the educational needs of the community.

Justice M. S. A. Siddiqui,
Chairman, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions
Article 30 of the Constitution confers the right to frame laws of the institutions, select governing council. If a minority institution does not get NOC from the state government within 30 days of application, it will be deemed to have received it. If rejected, the NCMEI will be the final authority will be the final authority to give it. Muslim minority should begin to pursue excellence. Israel is like Mizoram but Jewish community has bagged 180 Nobel Prizes within the first century of the institution of these prize. Some Jews raised Rs. 35,000 crore for the construction of a grand place of worship. But the chief Rabbi said the God can be worshipped anywhere. Let us build universities out of this money. No Jew is uneducated today. But Muslims are lagging by 700 year behind other communities. We (the NCMEI) has received 5,500 cases during the last four years. But only five per cent of the cases have been brought up by Muslims. Remaining 95 per cent have come from Christian institutions. Today we need to have quality as well as need to assert utility to the nation too.

Kamal Faruqui,
Chairman, Delhi State Minorities Commission
We must avail of all the benefits that have been created for the minorities. Even before the Sachar Committee Report was presented, there were 259 schemes for the minorities. 15-point programme has been in operation for the last 25 years. The latest RBI report says that the priority sector lending has been increased for the minorities. The report of the Ranganatha Mishra Commission recommending reservation for the Muslims should be placed before the Parliament.

Dr. Mani Jacob,
Chancellor, Allahabad Agricultural Institute Deemed University, General Secretary, All India Association for Christian Education
It is desirable to enact national legislation on the meaning and implications of Article 30(i) of the Constitution. Such an Act should specify the meaning of the terms ‘minority’, ‘establishments’, ‘administration’ etc and provide specific clarifications on ‘minority status’, ‘the right to appoint principal and teachers’, ‘admission of students’, ‘institutions of their choice’ etc. this will remove the present need for frequent litigation on every issue related to minority rights. At present the judiciary is the last refuge of the minorities. This situation should change. The minority institutions should be able to get affiliation from any Central University or other reputed institutions. Owing to the impact of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the cumulative need for higher education opportunities, it is estimated that at least 10 million new seats will be required in our universities in the next ten years. At least 20 per cent of them will be from minority communities. It is imperative that there should be liberalization in the sanctioning of universities, their off campus academic centres, autonomous colleges with degree giving authority and new colleges and professional institutions.

The judgement in the St. Stephen’s College case of 1992 had specified upto 50 per cent seat for the minority communities in their institutions but now the Supreme Court has decided that the State governments would fix the quota or per centage of minority and non-minority. It is unfortunate that this responsibility has been entrusted to the State government without any consultation with the minority communities. We plead that there should be a national legislation to ensure upto at least 75 per cent of the seats for minority students in all courses, all minority institutions, in all state.

Dr. Fakhruddin Mohammad,
Hon. Secretary, Mesco, Hyderabad
There have been plenty of success stories in the southern states. They all had a humble origin but had tremendous vision and energy in the beginning to set up institutions. Al-Ameen in Karnataka, Crescent Engg. College in Chennai, Azam Campus in Pune, MES and MSS in Kerala etc had little resources in the beginning. They have now grown into huge institutions. Now the South Indian Muslims should concentrate on quality and setting up centres of excellence. In Andhra Pradesh, Muslims have already run 35 engineering colleges and will be adding another 18 this year.

Maqbool Ahmed Siraj,
Journalist, Bangalore
The Government of Karnataka has been most charitable towards underprivileged sections of the society even from the days of the Maharaja of Mysore period. Reservations were made as early as 1889 in Mysore state as the ruling dynasty itself belonged to OBCs. Following Independence, the Karnataka government made four initiatives 1- enhanced the reservations in the education and government jobs to the level of 79 per cent during the Devaraj Urs 2- liberally sanctioned professional colleges to all communities, 3- introduced central entrance test for admission for the professional courses and finally, 4- accorded four per cent reservation to Muslims in 1994. Today Muslim community itself runs about 800 high schools in the state (200 alone in Bangalore city), three medical colleges, a dozen engineering colleges, 50 degree colleges, a dozen teachers training colleges. The broad policy of providing access, and ensuring social equity has benefited all communities. In fact, major beneficiaries of this policy were Vokkaligars and Lingayaths who have transformed themselves into powerful elite dislodging the Brahmins from the top positions.
Others who spoke included Maulana Salman of Nadwatul Ulema Lucknow, Maulana Wali Rahmani of Jamia Rahmania, Munger, Prof. Sabra Habib of Lucknow University, Prof. SSA Jaffery of Giri Institute, Lucknow, Dr. Nazrul Islam, Director, Prosecution, West Bengal Police, Dr. Iftekharuddin of Mesco, Hyderabad, Prof. Anita Nuna of NCERT, Sister Marion Mathew of Allahabad University, Prof. K. K. Aboo Bakar of Central Advisory Board of Education, Mr. V. K. Beeran, member, AMU Court, Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi of Jameatul Hedaya, Jaipur. Mr. Ahmed Sayeed Malihabadi, MP and editor Azad Hind, Kolkata.