The Government will establish “world class universities” for minorities in five States, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana with a strict 40 per cent reservation for girls. The fifth State has not been decided yet. The Government is pitching it as a “major push” to the education for minorities in the country.
The land for setting up these universities will be acquired from the States. Rajasthan has already allotted land in Kota for the purpose.
The first of these universities is expected to be functional by 2018.
Besides these universities, the Ministry of Minorities Affairs has approved 16 “Gurukul-type” schools across the country in Telangana (7), Andhra Pradesh (6), Karnataka (2) and Jharkhand (1). These are being described as “Gurukul-type” as they would be residential schools providing traditional as well as modern education, sources said.
First of these schools would be inaugurated in Telangana within “two to three months”, the sources pointed out.
The Ministry has also decided to help ‘Madrasas’ which would want to seek assistance from the centre. “Assistance will be given if sought for,” they said.
A high-level committee constituted by Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will outline the character of the five universities which may also allocate a percentage of seats to non-minorities, sources said.
The committee was announced at a meeting of general body of Maulana Azad Education Foundation here on Thursday. It was presided by Naqvi, who is also Chairman of the foundation. It will give its report within two months about the way to go ahead with setting up these “world class institutions” providing education in technical, medical, Ayurved, Unani etc fields.
Naqvi said that several important decisions regarding educational empowerment and skill development of students belonging to Minority communities were taken in the meeting. This includes “Begam Hajrat Mahal Girls Scholarship”. Decision was also taken to establish a “Garib Nawaz Skill Development Centre”.
The “Gurukul-type” schools would be fashioned on the lines of Jawahar Navoday Vidyalayas and would be meant exclusively for minorities.
“State Governments may name these schools the way they like,” sources said. In most of the states, funds upto 40 per cent will be provided by the centre and 60 per cent by the respective State. However, in the North-East, the Central Government will provide 80 per cent of the funding.
