India Education & Career

A multi-pronged strategy to address the educational backwardness of the Muslim community, as brought out by the Sachar Committee, has been adopted. The madarsa modernization programme has been revised to make it more attractive by providing better salary to teachers, increased assistance for books, teaching aids and computers, and introduction of vocational subjects, etc. This scheme, now known as Quality Improvement in Madrasa Education, has been launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

A new centrally sponsored scheme of financial assistance for Infrastructure Development of Privately Managed Elementary/Secondary/Senior Secondary schools set up for minorities has been launched .National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has prepared text books for all classes in the light of the National Curriculum Framework-2005.Thirteen universities have been provided Rs.40 lakh each for starting centres for studying social exclusion and inclusive policy for minorities and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

Under the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme (KGBV), criteria of educational backward blocks has been revised with effect from 1st April 2008 to cover blocks with less than 30% rural female literacy and in urban areas with less than national average of female literacy (53.67%: Census 2001). Universalization of access to quality education at secondary stage (SUCCESS), has been approved. Setting up of new Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) is being incorporated in the revised schemes by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Provision of more girls’ hostels in colleges and universities in minority concentration districts/blocks is proposed under the existing University Grants Commission scheme of Ministry of HRD.

A training module has been developed by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, for sensitization of government officials. The module has been sent to the Central/State Training Institutes for implementation. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) has prepared a module for sensitization of organised civil services and it has been incorporated in their training programmes.

Three scholarship schemes for minority communities viz., Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit-cum-Means were launched and 6.89 lakh scholarships were awarded to students belonging to minority communities in 2008-09.

The corpus of Maulana Azad Education Foundation, which stood at Rs. 100 crores, was doubled to Rs. 200 crores in December, 2006. The corpus was increased by Rs. 50 crores in 2007-08 and by Rs. 60 crore in 2008-09. A budget provision of Rs115 crore has been made in 2009-10.

A revised Coaching and Allied scheme was launched and 5522 candidates belonging to minority communities were provided assistance in 2008-09.