Centre to push for educational empowerment of minorities

New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said the Centre will be launching a campaign to educationally empower the poor and marginalised sections of the society.

Stressing the Narendra Modi government's commitment towards providing quality education to students belonging to minority communities, Naqvi said the ministry will establishing five "world class" educational institutions across the country.

"Tehrik-e-Taalim (campaign for education) will be launched on the occasion of late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's 86th birth anniversary on October 15," Naqvi told the media here.

Aimed at educationally empowering the most poor and backward sections of the society, the campaign will be launched in 100 districts across the country, which have been identified as lacking in education awareness.

"Besides spreading awareness about education and various government schemes, we will be building schools and educational institutions to develop educational infrastructure in these areas," he said.

The five new institutes will be imparting education in the fields of technology, medical, Ayurveda, Unani etc.

"A high-level committee, constituted to frame the roadmap, including places where these institutes will be established, will soon submit its report. Our target is to start academic sessions in these institutes from 2018," Naqvi said, adding that 40 per cent reservation for girls in these institutions has been proposed.

About 100 Navoday Vidyalaya type schools will also be opened in minority concentrated areas in the coming months, he said.

Speaking about the achievements of the ministry in the last three years of Modi's government, Naqvi said that scholarships worth Rs 4,740 crore were given to 1.82 crore students besides contributing towards infrastructure development including building 33 colleges, 97 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), 16 polytechnic institutes, 1,102 school buildings and 1952 drinking water facilities.

He said that 47,986 pucca (concrete) houses have been built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and provisioning of 17,434 hand pumps/water tanks and wells has been made across the country for Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis -- the six notified minority communities.

Pointing at a nearly 10 per cent hike in the ministry's budget in 2017-18, Naqvi said around 70 per cent of the budget is being spent on schemes and programmes aimed at educational empowerment and skill development of minorities.

He said the Centre's policy of "empowerment without appeasement" has created an "atmosphere of development and trust" among the minorities and has been successful in bringing the poor, backward and weaker sections of the minorities into the mainstream of the development through "3Es" -- education, employment and empowerment.

In the last three years, over 5.2 lakh youths, including about 40 per cent women, have been covered under various job-oriented skill training schemes of the ministry at an expenditure of Rs 578 crore, he said.

Naqvi also said the ministry will be promoting artisans and craftsmen by providing them markets through organising "Hunar Haats" across the country.

"We have decided to establish 'Hunar Hub', to organise such events, in every state. Several states have come forward to provide land for the project. Next 'Hunar Haat' will be organised at Puducherry, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gauhati, Ahmedabad, Jaipur," the minister said and added that the last two such haats held in Delhi witnessed a cumulative footfall of over 33 lakh.

He also said a "Ustaad Samman Samaroh" will be launched during Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya birth centenary celebrations, to felicitate and honour artisans and craftsmen from minority communities.