Senior Aligs call for calculating Delhi schools’ Diversity Index
By TCN News,
New Delhi: Senior Aligerians working in different MNCs based in Delhi & NCR have written to Delhi Chief Minister regarding calculation of ‘Diversity Index’ as a start of a campaign for ‘No Holistic Education without Diverse Representation’.
The campaigners are looking for data on sampling basis of 30 un-aided elite schools (10 schools – Tier1 + 10 Schools – Tier2 + 10 Schools – Tier3 based on their school ranking in Delhi) and 17 Pratibha Delhi government schools to calculate the Diversity Index.
For representational purpose only
“We would like to request you to please instruct the Department of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi to provide all the above data. This is also part of mission of the AAP government to provide quality education for all. This is important to create a very committed affirmative actions to provide proportional quality educational opportunity for minorities, dalits, girls and other economically weaker section of the society,” the campaigners have said.
Following is the complete text of the letter: 13-May-2015
To,
The Hon’ble Chief Minister
The Govt. of NCT of Delhi
Level – 3, A – Wing, Delhi Secretariat,
New Delhi – 110002
Subject: A request for data to calculate Diversity Index of non-aided Delhi Elite Schools and Pratibha Government Schools on sampling basis to start a Campaign for “No Holistic Education without Diverse Representation”
Respected Sir:
We are senior Alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) working in different MNCs of Delhi and NCR region. The objective of this campaign is to impart a holistic education within all Delhi schools where holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the diverse communities of Delhi (All religious minorities, women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and economically backward communities), to the natural world, and to humanitarian values such as compassion and peace.
Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning without getting impacted by communal and sectarian ideas, stereotyping and negative myths about other communities from very impressionable and tender age of schools children within all schools of Delhi. One of the objectives is also to start a meaningful and objective debate based on data and evidences on this issue and based on the output of this campaign; the government may take affirmative actions to increase the diversity within Delhi Schools. This diversity index will also help to sensitize the majority communities on this issue.
Origin of Successful American Affirmative Actions Inspired by India: John Feild was the most experienced person assigned full time to the Presidents John F Kennedy Committee to calculate the diversity index within American Corporations and take all affirmative actions to increase the number of minority African American within American Corporations. John Feild was the person who conceived this idea and convinced President John F Kennedy to start these affirmative actions. John Feild has taken all his inspirations from the diversity in Indian society and from the educational institutional like Kolkata University at that time as written in his Memoir, Making a Difference – A Civil Rights Memoir – “When Feild was called to active duty in World War –II in April 1943. . . . . . After a war, while Feild waited six weeks in India for troops’ ship to return him to the United States, he got his chance to become an English Teacher. He volunteered at the University of Calcutta and received in return a broad cultural education about Hinduism and Islam from his students. Feild, whose family was Scots-English and Italian, came to see diversity at work in a country that was totally different from the United States. . . . . . In his two years abroad, Feild came to understand the human struggle against a broad canvas of different cultures, classes and religions. He returned to Detroit with a more detailed vision of the world that expanded far beyond the city’s frequent black-white polarization. . . . . He felt very optimistic that, through persuasion, people would ultimately agree. . . His positive outlook and his broad experience with different cultures (In India) gave him confidence in operating among different races and organizations.”
Methodology: We are looking for data to calculate the diversity index of non-aided Delhi’s elite schools and Pratibha government schools on sampling basis to start an objective and meaningful debate on this issue and based on the output of this diversity index, the government may take number of affirmative actions to increase the diversity within all Delhi Schools.
We are looking for following categories of data for both students and teachers/staff of these schools within following categories:
a. Total number of students, teachers and staffs.
b. Total number of female students, teachers and staff among all students, teachers and staffs.
c. Total number of religious minorities in each category (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Buddhists) among all students, teachers and staffs.
d. Total number of females in each category ( Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Economically Backward Communities) among all students, teachers and staffs
e. Total number of Scheduled Castes among all students, teachers and staffs
f. Total number of Scheduled Tribes among all students, teachers and staffs
g. Total number of Economically Backward Communities among all students, teachers and staffs
We are looking for data on sampling basis of 30 un-aided elite schools (10 schools – Tier1 + 10 Schools – Tier2 + 10 Schools – Tier3 based on their school ranking in Delhi) and data of 17 Pratibha Delhi government schools to calculate the Diversity Index. We would like to request you to please instruct the Department of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi to provide all the above data. This is also part of mission of the AAP government to provide quality education for all. This is important to create a very committed affirmative actions to provide proportional quality educational opportunity for minorities, dalits, girls and other economically weaker section of the society.
Regards,
P Mohammad & Team
Senior Aligerians working in different MNC’s based in Delhi & NCR.