Minorities Affairs Ministry has made a fresh bid to push their proposal for the six universities for minorities. Minister K Rahman Khan has sought the cooperation of Human Resource Ministry in creating “minority focus” universities.
The creation of the six universities for the ‘minorities’ had hit a roadblock when the seven-member panel appointed by the Minority Affairs Ministry called the proposal “unconstitutional.”
Citing examples of Muslim Aligarh University and Jamia Millia, which are facing major litigations, the former University Grants Chairman Sukhdeo Thorat-led Committee had said that the Parliament could not pass an Act to set up a “minority” university.
“To give a further boost to higher education among minorities, it has proposed to set up six new universities with a minority focus. It is pertinent to note that we already have an exclusive university with a focus on tribals and given the status of Muslims in higher education, the proposed six universities are very much essential,” said Khan, at the meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE).
“I would request complete cooperation from the HRD Ministry in the creation of these six universities. Ministry of HRD and the Ministry of Minority Affairs have been working together complementing the efforts of each other. As a result of these efforts, some positive impact can already be seen in the improved literacy rates among Muslims but still a lot more needs to be done,” he said.
Citing the Sachar Committee report, Khan said, “The report has pointed out the backwardness of Muslim community, especially in the educational status. Given the status of education of Muslims, the MoHRD should take specific bold initiatives.”
Khan further said, “In fact, the Sachar Committee has concluded that the educational status of Muslims was one of the lowest among all socio-religious communities and in some aspects, it was even worse than SCs/STs. I am sure we can find ways to mobilise the monetary budgetary requirements towards the effort.”
As per the census 2001, the literacy rate among Muslims was 59.1 per cent, which was much below the national average of 64.8 per cent. The mean year of the schooling among Muslim children was lower compared to the average mean year of the schooling for all children. less than 4 per cent of Muslims were graduate or diploma holders compared to about 7 per cent of the population aged 20 and above.