Educational Schemes for Minority Communities: Overview

Educational Schemes for Minority Communities: Overview

Question: Several educational schemes have been implemented to improve the educational status of members of the minority communities. Elaborate.

- Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan has been implemented in 1338 new government secondary schools

- Total outlay of INR 837.78 crore has been approved in Minority Concentrated Districts

- As per the UNDISE/Unified District Information System for Education for the period 2014-2015, out of 1338 secondary schools approved in MCDs, around 960 are functional

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan provides for the following:

- Opening of new schools,

- Construction of school buildings,

- Construction of extra classrooms, additional teachers

- Setting up of Kasturba Ghandhi Balika Vidyalalayas

- Provision of free textbooks to students up to class VIII

- Provision of Urdu textbooks for Urdu medium schools as well as where the language is taught as an subject

- Free uniforms(two sets) for girls and children belonging to ST/SC/BPL

- Infrastructure development in schools was also stressed

- KGBV has opened in Educationally Backward Blocks where female rural literacy is below the national average for providing residential upper primary school for girls

It plans to reach out to the following categories of girls :

- Girls who are unable to go to regular schools,

- Out-of-school girls in the ten-plus age group who are unable to complete primary school,

- Younger girls of migratory population in difficult areas of scattered habitations that do not qualify for primary/upper primary schools.

- Among girls, KGBVs give reservation for 75% of the girls belonging to the following communities: SC, ST, OBC and Minority Communities

- 25% is been provided for girls from BPL families

- Around 555 KGBVs have been sanctioned for MCDs

- As per the scheme for Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions, close to INR 11.45 crore has been released covering 126 minority institutions during 2014-2015

- Under the Sub Mission on Polytechnics, financial help is provided to State/UT governments limited to INR 12.30 crore per polytechnic to meet costs of establishing new institutions in under as well as un served areas.

- Of the 300 unserved and underserved districts under the scheme, 57 identified minority districts are eligible for assistance under new norms for the schemes

- During 2015, 55 of the 57 eligible minority districts are eligible under norms of the scheme and amount of INR 367.54 crore has been released for construction of government polytechnics in numerous districts

- During the same period, INR 25 crore has been released to MCDs and polytechnics are at various phases of construction

Facts and Stats

- 18 polytechnics in MCDs have been operationalised wherein classes have commenced

- Total of 15% of the outlay under the Sarva Shiksha Abhigyan is for minority concentration districts/areas to attain goal of universalisation of elementary education for meeting gaps in infrastructure for schools, and classroom teachers apart from providing access for opening new schools

- Initiatives and steps which benefit minorities and Muslims have also been introduced including:

- Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEM),

- The Scheme of Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (IDMI),

- The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme (JNV),

- Setting up of Girls Hostels, Model Schools under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA),

- The Mid-Day-Meal Scheme, Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS),

- Establishment of the Model Degree Colleges, Women Hostels and Polytechnics in the Minority Concentration Districts.

- Setting up of Block Institutes of Teacher Education,

- Appointment of Language Teachers,

- Providing modern education to Madrases under National Institute of Open Schooling and

- Easing of norms for affiliation of Minority Educational Institutions