Ahead of the polls, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan on Tuesday launched the Nalanda scheme for training of teachers in minority colleges and universities.Nalanda Project is a development programme for orientation of faculty of minority universities and minority-managed degree colleges and higher educational institutions.
“Standards of minority colleges have been deteriorating. There is complete lack of training of teachers especially in smaller towns and cities,” said Khan.“Only qualifications don’t make a good teacher. Knowledge has to be upgraded and teachers should constantly adopt new researches and teaching methodologies,” he said.
Professor AR Kidwai of Aligarh Muslim University, which is the nodal centre for the project, said that the idea behind the scheme is to raise the standards of education in minority degree colleges.
Khan also launched the ‘Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme’ (health scheme) which would see a “Sehat Card” being issued to all minority students enrolled in institutions aided by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.
Under this scheme, students in the age group of 5-14 years will be provided with a health card which will entitle them to free check-ups twice a year at the place where they are studying.
“We want to identify diseases from an early stage among children and children found with severe health issues will be entitled to treatment upto Rs two lakh,” said Khan. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had in his budget speech announced that medical facilities for students would be provided through institutions financed by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation. He had earmarked Rs 100 crore for the same.