By Dr. Syed Ahmed for TwoCircles.net,
Imphal: Manipur Minorities and Other Backward Classes Economic Development Society (MOBEDS), an agency under the Department of Minorities and Other Backward Classes (MOBC), organised one-day educational awareness programme at the Remedial Coaching Centre at Azad High School on February 1, 2014 at Yairipok.
The function was attended by Parliamentary Secretary of MOBC, SC & Science and Technology Md. Amin Shah and Chairperson of Manipur State Minorities Commission (MSMC) A. Halim Chowdhury, IAS Retd. attended the function as Chief Guest and President respectively. The newly elected MP of Rajya Sabha, Alhaj Abdul Salam, MOBEDS Project Director Md. Salauddin Khan and SDO (Keirao Bitra) Md. Samim Ahmad Shah were also present as Guests of Honour.
Addressing the function, Md. Amin Shah said that the Muslim community is lagging behind the others because the community had failed to realize the importance of education for quite a long time. The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and MOBC Department have been implementing various schemes for the welfare of the minority communities. There are schemes for giving scholarship and coaching to minority students. Recently we had opened free remedial coaching programme in many Muslim villages. We had opened one here at Yairipok to give special coaching for Muslim students. Such coaching centres had produced excellent students. The Muslim students should take these opportunities and work hard to bring good results, he added.
Md. Amin Shah further said the MOBC Department will warmly receive any kind of suggestion to bring about improvement in the work of the department but we don’t want unwarranted interference. The department is planning to organize such educational awareness programmes at Remedial Coaching Centres of Jiribam, Kshetrigaon, Thoubal, Irong, Sora, Kwakta and Lilong. The Department is planning to introduce a scheme to provide bi-cycles to Muslim girl students studying in Class IX and solar lamp to minority students, he added.
Halim Chowdhury said the Muslim community need to be made aware of the importance of educating their children. We have been sensitizing the Muslims in the remote areas. Still today the Muslim parents in the remote areas are not realizing the importance of educating their girls. MSMC have been organizing such awareness programmes in the rural areas and it has helped a lot in opening the eyes of the illiterate Muslims, he added.
Md. Salauddin Khan informed the gathering on the programmes taken up by MOBEDS. He said that private coaching centres in the State today charge Rs. 8000 per student for the kind of coaching that we are giving in our centres. The Muslims in the State should take these opportunities. We have recruited well-qualified tutors. We are organizing free remedial coaching from Class VI-XII in 9 centres. Our centres had produced position holders, he added.
Dr. Syed Ahmed (the author of this report) also spoke at length as a resource person on the policies and programmes taken up by the Centre and the State for the welfare of the minorities.
Alhaj Abdul Salam emphasised the importance of education in the development of the Muslim community in his speech.
Md. Samim Ahmad said the today the Government at the Centre and the State is giving numerous opportunities to Muslim students in the form of scholarship and coaching. The Muslim students should be aware of all these facilities and work hard.