To address the low participation of the minorities especially Muslims who are
the largest section of educationally backward minorities, in the national education
system, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken several significant
initiatives:-
SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA) addresses issues of access, equity and quality and
makes schools open and inclusive in the secular space of our polity. The
coverage of the Scheme has been concurrently extended to recognize
volunteering Madarsas/Maktabs supported under SSA as well as those other
volunteering Madrasas/Maktabs which may not be registered or recognized but
supported under SSA interventions in coordination with State Project
Directorates.
Schemes amenable to earmarking of financial and physical targets for
minorities, have been implemented to ensure that benefit to minority
communities is beyond 15% as in case of SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA) and
Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalaya (KGBV) where share of minorities is upto
20%. In order to enhance participation of minorities in the national education
system, various initiatives have been undertaken – 121 districts with
concentration of Muslim population are specifically targeted for maximising
school access and eliminating infrastructure gaps through opening of 9071
new Primary Schools and 1475 Upper Primary Schools; construction of 21559
additional classrooms and recruitment of 29180 teachers.
Mid-Day-Meal (MDM) Scheme has been extended to cover all children studying
in classes I-VIII of Government, Government Aided including National Child
Labour Project Schools, madarsas/maqtabs EGS/AIE Centres supported under
SarvaShikshaAbhiyan without any discrimination of caste, gender, etc. Under
the scheme nutritious meal of 450 calories and 12 grams of protein is provided
at primary level (classes I-V) and of 700 calories and 20 grams of protein is
provided at upper primary level (classes VI – VIII).
Out of 3609 Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalayas (KGBVs) sanctioned, 490
KGBVs have been sanctioned in blocks having over 20% muslim population out
which 475 are operational enrolling 25% muslim girls.
Ministry has launched ‘Saakshar Bharat’ the new variant of the National
Literacy Mission on 8.9.2009 with an objective to make 70 million non-literate
adults literate by the end of the 11th Plan. The scheme has special focus on
women, belonging to Minorities. It is proposed to cover 12 million Muslims (10
million women +2 million men) under the programme. Saakshar Bharat is being
implemented in 410 districts where female literacy is less than 50%. The
programme has been rolled out in 372 districts in 25States and 1 Union
Territory. – 2 –
Jan ShikshanSansthans (JSSs) are imparting vocational training in 33 out of
90 minority concentrated districts in the country.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Teacher Education is under revision. Block
Institutes of Teacher Education (BITEs) are proposed to be established in 196
blocks having concentration of SC/ST and Minorities.
Due to these interventions the share of Muslim children enrolled at primary &
upper primary level has gone up and those out of school have decreased.
According to District Information System of Education (DISE) the enrolment of
Muslim children at primary and upper primary level for the year 2009-10 was
13.04% & 11.25% respectively.
Under the scheme of financial assistance for ‘Infrastructure Development for
Private Aided/Unaided Minority Institutes(IDMI) during financial year 2011-12,
Rs.48.43 crore has been released to 10 State Governments to 259 Minority
Institutions.During 2012-13, out of budget provision of Rs.50.00 crore, an
amount of Rs.2.62 crore has been released for 62 institutions in 3 States
(Kerala, Sikkim and Mizoram)
Under the “Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas’ (SPQEM)
during the financial year 2011-12, Rs.139.53 crore has been released to 9
States for honorarium of teachers, Book Bank/Science Kits, Computer Lab and
Teachers Training etc. to Madrassa teachers teaching modern subjects in 5934
Madrassas. During 2012-13, out of budget provision of Rs.175.00 crore,
Rs.31.57 crore has been released for 1348 Madrasas in 4 States (Chhattisgarh,
MP, UP & Rajasthan)
The scheme of RashtriyaMadhyamikShikshaAbhiyan, inter alia provides
coverage of special focus groups viz. girls’ education, children belong to SC, ST,
OBC, and Educationally Backward Minorities, which was launched in March,
2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and improve
its quality. Since its inception, 9670 secondary schools have been approved, out
of which 930 have been approved in Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs).
An amount of Rs.2499.81 crore has been released out of total allocation of
funds of Rs.2512.45 crore.
The certificates/ qualifications of the Madrasa Boards which have been granted
equivalence by the State Education Boards to that of their Secondary and
Senior Secondary qualification have been equated with corresponding
certificates of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council of
Board of School Education in India (COBSE) and other School Examination
Boards, for the purpose of employment and entry to higher levels of education.
Consequential notification by DOP&T has since been issued on 23.2.2010.
National Monitoring Committee on Minorities’ Education (NMCME):
The National Monitoring Committee on Minorities’ Education (NMCME) was
revived on the 7th
August, 2004 and reconstituted on expiry of its term w.e.f.
23rd
August, 2007. The term of the Committee has expired on 22nd
August,
2010 and has been reconstituted on 23rd
December, 2012. The Committee is
chaired by the Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development, and has
representations from eminent educationists, Members of Parliament, representatives of State Governments and representatives of Minority
communities, educational institutions and other stake holders. Besides a
Standing Committee of the National Monitoring Committee on Minorities’
Education, five Sub-Committees on (i) Vocational Education & Skill
Development of Minorities, (ii) Implementation of Schemes Aimed at
Minorities, (iii) Mapping of Educational Requirements of Minorities – Region &
District wise, (iv) Girls’ Education and (v) Promotion of Urdu language and
enhance compatibility amongst minorities through knowledge of English have
also been constituted.The Standing Committee and Sub-Committees have to
visit States to interact with the minority communities, managements of
educational institutions and other stakeholders.
UGC has approved/sanctioned 285 Women’s Hostels during 11th Plan in
Minority Concentration Districts/Areas. Out of total allocation of Rs.370.19
crore, Rs.203.69 crore have been released till 27th
February, 2012.
The UGC has approved the guidelines for establishment of centres in
universities for study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy and sanctioned
these centres in 35 universities. Rs.21.53 crores has been released.
UGC has established 2328 Equal Opportunity Cells for
Minorities/SC/ST/OBCs in 23 Central Universities, 114 State Universities, 12
Deemed Universities and 2179 Colleges and Rs.46.07 crore has been
allocated/released during the 11th
Five Year Plan
A new scheme to assist States for establishment of a model degree college in
each of the 374 identified higher educationally backward districts having Gross
Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education lower than the national GER has
been operationalised. An amount of Rs.782 crore has been earmarked as the
Central Government share in the 11th
Five Year Plan for the Scheme. In so far
as Minority Concentration Areas/Districts are concerned, 64 such
areas/districts have been identified under this scheme. Approval has been
granted to 15 model degree colleges in Minority Concentration Areas/Districts
out of which an amount of Rs.2.67 crore has been released to 2 colleges.
Under the Sub-Mission on Polytechnics, the Government of India provides
financial assistance to the State Governments/UTs for setting up of
polytechnics in the un-served and underserved districts during the 11th Plan. A
sum of upto Rs.12.3 crore per polytechnic is provided to the State/UTs, subject
to the condition that the land and recurring cost shall be provided by the State
Governments/UTs. As per the Scheme criteria, 57 districts out of 90 Minority
Concentration Districts are eligible for consideration under the Scheme. So far
an amount of Rs.254.66 crore has been released as initial grants for setting up
of polytechnics in 48 Districts out of 57 Districts.
Academies for Professional Development of Urdu Medium Teachers have been
set up at three Central Universities viz. Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh,
JamiaMilliaIslamia, New Delhi and Maulana Azad National Urdu University,
Hyderabad. The Academy at JMI has trained 1675 teachers. MANUU has
trained 3061 teachers and AMU has conducted 16 Refresher
Courses/workshops for Primary/Secondary school teachers and has covered
356 teachers for teaching modern subjects in Urdu medium. An amount of Rs.
4.00 crore for each of these Universities was sanctioned by UGC for
establishment of Academies for Professional Development of Urdu Medium
Teachers during 11th
Plan. Rs. 61.31 crores have been sanctioned for establishment of ‘Residential
Coaching Academies for Minorities, Women/SCs/STs’’ in Aligarh Muslim
University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Baba Sahib
BhimraoAmbedkar, JamiaHamdard and JamiaMilliaIslamia so far, an amount
of Rs. 30.66 crore has been released by University Grants Commission.
JamiaHamdard has admitted 224 students(66 in 2010, 80 in 2011 & 78 in
2012), Maulana Azad National Urdu University admitted 148 students (81 in
2010 & 67 in 2011), Baba SahebBhimRaoAmbedkar has admitted 223 students
(95 in 2010, 59 in 2011 & 69 in 2012), Aligarh Muslim University has admitted
96 students and JamiaMilliaIslamia has admitted 210(100 in 2010 and 110 in
2011) students.
National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) has been
established by an Act of Parliament with the key objective of ensuring that the
true amplitude of the educational rights enshrined in Article 30 (1) of the
Constitution is made available to the members of the notified religious minority
communities, including the Muslims. NCMEI has issued 6305 minority status
certificates as on 30.6.2012.
National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) is being
strengthened. The Mandate of the Council is being revisited for empowering the
Council to register, examine and award approved qualifications to the students
registered with it up to pre-degree level courses in the Urdu language and
vocational qualifications dovetailing these with National Vocational Education
Qualification Framework whether by statute or otherwise.
The programmes of the NCPUL are now available at 2009 Study Centres located
in 234 Minority Concentration Districts in 26 States of the country which
include one year Diploma Course in Computer Applications, Business
Accounting & Multilingual DTP (CABA-MDTP), One Year Diploma Course in
Urdu language, one year Certificate Course in Arabic Language and two years
Diploma Course in Functional Arabic. CABA-MDTP scheme has transformed
the Urdu speaking population into employable technical work force and more
than 50% diploma holders are already employed. 50,000 jobs are expected for
Diploma holders under the National Population Register Project.
In order to preserve and promote traditional calligraphy, a rich heritage of India
and dovetailing it with the modern graphic design to create employment and
entreneurship, the Council is running Calligraphy and Graphic Design Course
at 35 locations in the country.
Scheme for Urdu Press Promotion has been strengthened to provide for capacity
building of Urdu journalists. New courses on Mass Media, Script Writing and
Dialogue writing are being launched to enhance employment opportunity in
addition to the subsidy provided to Urdu newspapers to avail UNI Urdu News
Service.
*****
Annexure
Salient Findings of Research Conducted by NUEPA – Participation of Muslims in
Higher Education:
1. National Sample Survey 64th
Round conducted in 2007-08 presents the
information on participation in higher education in terms of social and religious
groups. Result shows that the Gross Attendance Ratio (GAR) of Muslims stands at 8.7
percent as opposed to 16.8% GAR of Non-Muslims in higher education. If we compare
the GAR of Muslims with other social groups, we observe that it is higher than the
GAR of Scheduled Tribes at 6.63 percent but lower than the GAR of Scheduled Castes
at 10.65% and much lower than the GAR of Other Backward Classes at 13.67 percent.
2. There is a wide variation in the participation within Non-Muslim community as
we move from ST, SC, OBC and others. It varies from 6.26% in the case of ST to
10.52% in the case of SC, 14.27% in the case of OBC to 29.56% in the case of others.
Thus there is a range of 23 within Non-Muslim community along different social
groups. It is interesting to observe that there is no such wide variation in the
participation within Muslim community as we move from ST, SC, and OBC to others.
GAR of ST is 5.6%, SC is 14.2%, OBC is 8.7% and that of others is 8.6%.
3. Participation by consumption expenditure groups: An interesting question that
emerges from the information is that whereas the top quartile of the Muslims does
show highest participation in relation to all the bottom four quartiles, the
differentiation in participation even within top quartile between communities is very
high.
4. The important characteristics of Muslim participation in higher education is
that at higher levels of higher education, such as, at the post graduation level,
attendance of Muslims falls down considerably. Besides, higher percentage of Muslims
(as compared to non-Muslims, 22.4% as compared to 19.2%) ends up doing Diploma
& Certificate below Graduate Level.
5. The third characteristics of Muslim participation in higher education is that
higher overall participation of Muslim ST and SC and lower degree level participation
of Muslim ST and SC as compared to Non-Muslim ST and SC only means Muslim ST
and SC participation is higher in post secondary diploma and certificate. It means
Muslim ST and SC prefer to join post secondary education for a short period certificate
and diploma course and they have lower participation at degree level. However, overall
higher participation in diploma course compensates for lower participation at degree
level. As a result overall diploma and degree participation for Muslim ST and SC is
higher in comparison to Non-Muslim ST and SC.
6. Level-wise Educational Inequality of Participation: Group Analysis
Educational participation in terms of graduates at different levels of education
is presented in terms of social, religious and economic groups. In the information
given in the table elementary i.e.; first stage of education is taken as the base and
index of graduates at other levels of education is calculated. Graduates, at different
levels of education, give the picture of stock available at a point of time. However, the
comparison tells us which group at what level suffers from the deficit of graduates. As
noted above, the identical stock at different levels is an ideal scenario of equality in
level wise participation in education. Any deviation from the ideal is something of
interest to know.
7. It is important to note that there is sharp fall in the number of graduates at junior secondary level for ST, SC and OBC social groups. In the religious group, the
fall in the number of graduates at junior secondary level for the Muslims may be
noted. However, the fall is not as high as ST, SC and OBC. In the religious group, NonMuslim do not show fall at the junior secondary level. In terms of economic groups,
the fall in the number of graduates at the junior secondary level is largest for I group.
The fall is reduced as the consumption expenditure group increases. It may be
concluded that to increase educational participation at higher levels of education the
number of graduates at Jr. secondary level needs to be increased especially for ST, SC,
OBC and the Muslims and income groups I, II and III as a matter of priority.
8. It is a matter of concern that a further deficit of graduates occurs for SC, ST,
OBC, I and II income group at the senior secondary level and to a lesser extent for
Muslims and income group III. Non-Muslim also suffers from sharp fall in the number
of graduates at senior secondary level from a high number of graduates at junior
secondary level.
9. Participation in higher education in terms of number of graduates very much
depends on the manner in which the fall in the number of graduates in different
groups take place at different levels of education. The number of graduates at different
levels of school education for different social groups
10. It is thus clear from the analysis that unless the participation in terms of
graduates at the first three levels of education is enhanced for SC, ST, OBC, I, II and
III income group, it would be meaningless to talk of higher participation in higher
education.
11. Factors Identifying Low Participation of Muslims in Higher Education
The central objective of the proposed research is to identify the factors for low
participation of Muslims in higher education. Factor analysis was conducted to
identify the factors responsible for low participation of Muslims. A sample of 402
Muslim students who are already studying in higher education institutions was
randomly served the questionnaire. In the questionnaire participating students’
perceptions were captured to understand the factors responsible for low participation
of Muslims in higher education. Factor analysis was conducted with a set of 30
questions on four point scale. Scale was given rank 1 for most agreed, rank 2 for
agreed, rank 3 for somewhat agreed and rank 4 for not agreed. Question is treated as variable in factor analysis. From the responses received through the questionnaire the
factor analysis facilitates in understanding the perceptions of individuals in terms of
factors. The factors pool different interrelated questions (variables) together under one
factor. A set of relevant factors may finally explain the perception of individuals in
understanding a phenomenon.
12. Factors for Low Participation of Muslims in Higher Education
The rotation of factor structure has clarified the things considerably. The first
factor pools five variables. Family expectation to take up a job (variable 26), value for
traditional profession in the family(variable 27), compulsion to start earning soon to
support the family(variable 15), tough to break the barrier of family profession
(variable 1) and last variable with lowest factor loading can be ignored. Factor 1,
therefore, turns out to be “income barrier”. Under Factor-1, family profession is valued
because it provides economic security. Family mode of traditional profession that is
linked to the traditional occupation followed in the family might not be remunerative
enough. This creates compulsion for an individual to search out for a job after school
education. Hence factor-1 explains the inability of an individual to break the family
profession and at the same time creates compulsion to earn early income to
supplement the income from family profession. This, in the perception of an
individual, income is the important deterrent for Muslims in the participation of higher
education.
The second factor also pools five variables together. My religion encourages
individual to have higher education (variable 23), Our religious community values
higher education (variable 28), Madarsa/school education is progressive and helps one
to join higher education (variable 21), My family believes that an individual must have
religious values for a decent life (variable 25), Cultural values of our religious
community motivates me to pursue higher education (variable 2) have all been pooled
under factor 2. This is the most interesting result. It establishes the fact that in the
perception of an individual religion is a facilitating factor for participation in higher
education.
Under Factor- 2 religion is considered in many ways as a strength for the
Muslim community for higher studies. Belief of a family that religious values and
decent life go together is quite significant. Cultural values of Muslims are important in
motivating individual to pursue higher education. At the level of religious community
there is premium attached with higher studies. The progressive role of
Madarsa/school education is accepted in helping to join higher education. We had
thought this to be barrier, but to our surprise it turns out to be strength in various
ways for participation in higher education.
The third factor pools four variables together. Higher education is an
investment good that have high future returns (variable 7), higher education is as
necessary as any other consumption good necessary for the survival (variable 8),
higher education is necessary for a good marriage (variable 11), higher education
provides the prestige that I need to have (variable 9). These variables point to the
returns from higher education. Higher education provides an opportunity that an
individual is expected to exploit. There are economic returns from investment. Higher
education as consumption good is considered necessary for survival. Higher education
has social return as it facilitates good marriage and earns prestige in the society.
Thus, there is the income barrier in terms of following the family profession and
compulsion to earn early. Against this barrier, is the opportunity to get high returns
by investing in higher education. It is thus the interplay of two factors – cost subject to
the income constraint and returns subject to the availability of finance – that to a great
extent determines the participation of Muslims in higher education. Among the five variables under fourth factor, there are two variables with high
factor loadings. They are: (i) higher participation at the school level only will lead to
higher participation at higher education level (variable 13), (ii) I am confident that my
marks will be high to get me into higher education (variable 14).Other variables with
low factor loadings can be ignored. This factor may be termed as school factor. Higher
participation as well as high marks i.e both access with quality education – at school
level will ensure high participation of Muslims in higher education.
The mathematical factor analysis has provided way to simplify the complexity of
the data that reflects the real world.
Continuing traditional profession compelling to join the job market (Income
barrier) emerges as the main factor for low participation in higher education.
Expectation of social and economic return from higher education (opportunity for
return) emerges as the main motivating factor for the participation of Muslims in
higher education. School factor, on the other hand, shows that not only the proportion
of eligible but also the performance at secondary school level is necessary for higher
participation. It is important to note that religion in the perception of students plays a
positive role and, therefore, Madarsas need to be modernized, mainstreamed and
supported at par with any secondary schools in India, particularly so in the regions
which have Muslim Concentrated Population.
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India Minorities 