The Hajj Committee officials here have received over a hundred applications, including 40 from girl aspirants who would like to attend the residential coaching programme for civil services exams.
It is indicative of the discernible shift in the attitude of Muslim students in general and Muslim girls in particular as several of them would have to travel from their distant hometowns to Mumbai.
The campaign in the Urdu media promising to hire the best visiting lecturers and provide all the advanced books and notes has attracted over 100 applications for 50 seats. Since the entire coaching is subsidized, the applications received are from all over India. Students will be charged Rs. 2,000 a month as fee for their accommodation, food, notes, lectures, use of library and computers.
Thus parents of the Muslim girls from middle class spotted an opportunity to further the career of their daughters at a nominal cost. Today's Muslim parents are more concerned about the economic security and stability of their daughters. Also prestigious profession as civil services enhances the prospects of matrimonial alliances.
"We have received about hundred applications from all across the country to this date, a number that clearly exceeds our quota of 50 students", said Mohd. Owais, chief executive office of the Haj Committee.
"Let me admit that the overwhelming response we have received is beyond our expectations. The applicants include engineers from IIT, MBBS doctors, law graduates and many holding Masters' degrees in the science stream” he added.
The good response from the Muslim girls also indicates that they are now more confident and are willing to travel for better prospects. It's now obvious that as compared to the Muslim boys a substantial numbers of Muslim girls are very ambitious about their career and work harder to achieve their career goals.
If only Muslim girls don't have to face the hurdles which they face in the male dominated environment they could change the equation with respect to low percentage of Muslims in civil services.
Maximum number of aspirants are from Maharashtra, while applications have been received from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal too.
Mr. Owais pointed out that while the original quota was only 50, he intends to propose raising the number to 75 in view of the enthusiastic response. He said: the Committee had provision and available infrastructure to accommodate more students. But our top priority is quality, not the number. The students have to perform well in the entrance test if they want the Hajj Committee to consider increasing the strength."
A screening test of select 50 students will be conducted in this first week of November. An objective-type examination will be conducted for students' selection and they will have to answer questions from a general studies paper. The test would be conducted by the Hajj Committee and coordinated by the experts. The Hajj Committee is fully ready to commence the academic activities immediately thereafter", said CEO Mohd Owais.
The Committee has started preparations. The ground floor of the Hajj House has already been converted into a library and four other floors of the Hajj House would be reserved for the classes, lodging and other requirements.
The kind of dedication and time required for clearing the entrance and interviews for the entry to civil services prevents many parents to permit their daughters to get enrolled in such preparatory programmes. Most parents apprehend delay in marriage of girls in the event of their taking up civil services exam.
The Hajj Committee's decision to start the training centre for the civil services exams for both the gender has its roots in the growing concern over the low representation of Muslims in the coveted IAS, IPS, IFS and other cadres that constitute the steel frame of the Indian bureaucracy and the key decision makers.
"We went and surveyed several coaching institutes before coming to a conclusion," said Owais. “Several parents felt encouraged because the Haj Committee offered segregated accommodation facilities for boys and girl aspirants”.
Maharashtra does not have a single civil services coaching institution run by any minority management.
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October 2009 |
