By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: ‘Primary schools should get more attention than professional colleges; in colleges there are few students from minority communities while the primary schools have far more ratio than the professional colleges,’ said Habeeb Faqeeh, President of minority cell of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Maharashtra.
He was addressing a one-day academic conference of Kokan Zone level held in Kalyan, Thane on January 29, 2009 on the topic ‘Problems of Minority Educational Institutions and their Solutions’. The conference was called by Federation of All Minority Educational organization (FAME), an organization established about one year earlier to ensure the implementation of minority schemes by forming a pressure group.
The chairman of FAME Mrs. Fauzia Khan said that it was necessary for us to be well informed about the nature of the problems we have regarding our institutions.
The conference was attended by hundreds of social workers and representatives from different minority institutions and from various part of Kokan Zone (Thane, Raigarh, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg).
During the opens session of question and answers Abdul Ghani Peerzada told that there exist an Urdu school in Ambarnath for 40 years but still it does not have even basic amenities. In the session many other problems such as lack of schools in Muslim dominated areas and scholarship problems were also put forward.
Mubashshir Ibrahim, Kokan advised that FAME should ponder upon starting a TV channel to provide guidance how to take benefit from different schemes made for them; it is said that due to unawareness of the schemes minority students are not able to get their advantage.
Habeeb Faqeeh said that the government deceives Muslims in the name of minority. Citing an example he added that last year the government announced that it had granted permission to 44 minority schools. Muslims were very happy. But when I studied the matter I found that out of the 44 only 4 colleges were of Muslims while the others were for other minorities.
Ali M Shamshee, said that problems are the identity of the alive nation, therefore no need to be worried. ‘Do away with your weaknesses and problems will be sorted out.’
Enayatullah Dalwai said that the teachers should be trained and that there should be a team that should find out the problems of public for lager benefit.
Haji Anis Ahmad, Minister of Minority Welfare Department told that 10 thousand acre land is under Maharashtra Waqf Board but a major part of it is occupied illegally by others. Now we have suggested a law according to which the Chief Executive Officer can take back the land illegally taken. He added that if Waqf properties are duly used every, child can get higher education.
At the end of the conference an ad hoc committee comprising ten representatives from different districts of Kokan Zone was formed that will present the minority problems before the education ministry.
Some resolutions regarding the educational uplift of the minorities and assuring broader benefit from schemes for them were presented and got mass approval. However, they will be handed over to the government within one week, told Kareem Shakir, the convener of the program.