By TCN News
New Delhi: Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MsDP), a flagship program of the Ministry of Minority Affairs has sanctioned 117 ITIs, 44 Polytechnics, 645 Hostels, 1092 School Buildings, and 20656 additional class rooms. The numbers are since the start of MsDP program under the UPA government. Minority Minister Najma A. Heptulla informed Rajya Sabha today in a written reply. She didn’t mention how many of these were actually built and running.
She also listed various schemes her ministry is running to benefit the minorities. For the Educational Empowerment of the minority communities, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is implementing Pre-matric, Post-matric and Merit-cum-Means based scholarship schemes.
Under Post-matric scholarship scheme, students are encouraged to pursue Technical and Vocational Courses in Industrial Training Institutes/ Industrial Training Centres by granting higher amount of scholarships. Under Merit-cum-Means based scholarship scheme, students are encouraged to pursue Professional and Technical courses. Under this scheme, students getting admissions in reputed listed institutes are re-imbursed full course fee.
Fellowship is provided to minority scholars to pursue higher and professional courses at M.Phil and Ph.D levels through the Maulana Azad National Fellowship.
Under the scheme of ‘Seekho aur Kamao’, training is imparted for upgrading the skills of minority youths in various modern/ traditional vocations to enable them to get suitable employment. The Ministry has also launched ‘Nalanda’, a project for Development of faculty in minority managed institutions for higher education.