By TCN News,
Thiruvananthapuram: The Welfare Fund for the Madrasa teachers will be made interest-free and distributed via treasuries, said Minister in charge of Minority Welfare PK Kunjalikkutty. He was explaining the various programmes implemented in the Minority Welfare Department as part of the 100-days’ programmes of the government.
The Kerala government will form the Kerala State Minority Development Finance Corporation to implement the minority welfare programmes more effectively. Four new career development coaching centres will be begun in Kasargode, Kanjirappalli, Vengara and Thiruvananthapuram for the youth of religious minorities. The State Minority Department has also been announced as the nodal agency to implement the programmes of the Central Minority Department, he added.
There have been controversies regarding the Madrasa Welfare Fund aimed at the welfare of Madrasa teachers. The last government had announced that it would be distributed via the Cooperative Banks in each district, which many opposed as interest was involved in it. Though the government tried to take the teachers into confidence, the Muslim League and several Muslim organizations came up in protest against the move. So, the new government in which the Muslim League is an important party has taken the decision to distribute the pension through treasuries, which would avoid the problem of interest.