The Hindu : National : Minority education: monitoring panel set up again

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Sunday, Aug 08, 2004

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National

Minority education: monitoring panel set up again

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 7. Another committee — provided for in the National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986, but done away with by the previous Government — has been constituted again at the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry. A little over six years after the completion of the three-year term of the first National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education (NMCME), the Government constituted it afresh toady. The committee has 27 nominated members from various minority communities.

'Mandated by CMP'

Announcing this at a press conference here, the HRD Minister, Arjun Singh, said the setting up of such a committee was mandated both by the Programme of Action 1992, based on the NPE, and by the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the United Progressive Alliance. "The NCMP makes several commitments which have a direct bearing on the education of minorities. To facilitate and guide the implementation of such commitments, it has become even more urgent to constitute this committee," he said.

Among the issues that are likely to draw the immediate attention of the committee are the need for fresh statistics on minority education, more schools at primary and upper primary level for minorities in the Urdu medium, additional schools under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in minority-dominated areas, special emphasis on education of minority girls and hostel facilities for girls at school level, clear guidelines from the Centre for recognition of minority institutions, review of AICTE guidelines for professional minority institutions, and simplification of UGC procedures for recognition of minority higher education institutions.

Many of the issues identified by the Ministry were brought up by minority representatives at a two-day dialogue last month.

Role of the committee

The committee will advise the Government on all matters pertaining to the education of minorities and review the functioning of various schemes launched by the Ministry for promoting minority education. While the committee is free to meet as often as required, one meeting a year is mandatory.

About the Bharatiya Janata Party's complaint that it had not been called to the July meeting of minority representatives, Mr. Singh said the party had revealed its stand on the issue of minority education when its government at the Centre failed to constitute the NMCME after the expiry of its first term in 1998.

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