By TCN News,
Aligarh:A two-day National Seminar on ‘Muslim Education and Employment in post-Sachar Scenario: Initiatives and Achievements’ today started at the University Polytechnic, Aligarh Muslim University. The Seminar, which has been organized by the UGC Human Resource Development Centre, AMU, will have its valedictory function on August 2.
Delivering the keynote lecture in the inaugural session, the Chief Guest of the seminar Justice M S A Siddiqui, former Chairman, National Commission for Minority educational Institutions, said that the Aligarh Muslim University has been entrusted with the responsibility to work for the educational and cultural advancement of Muslims of India and it should come forward to play the leadership role in this perspective.
Justice Siddiqui urged the AMU Vice Chancellor to form a peer review committee to assess the academic standard of the Inter Colleges in Uttar Pradesh, which are run by Muslims, and suggest ways to enhance their performance. He said that Muslim colleges in general are not doing well and their managing bodies need to be convinced to work hard and take their colleges to top levels. He pointed out that standard of Muslim education in India will rise when there is an environment for intellectual stimulation.
Justice Siddiqui further said that even though Muslims have benefited from the Madrasa education, these seminaries remain to be an incomplete system of education.
Referring to religion based discrimination in opportunities, Justice Siddiqui said that he was opposed to any kind of reservation, as it was nothing except a crutch, which aims at making a person lame and crippled forever while the present era demands a steady run to achieve excellence at par. He said that he had been the only Muslim to serve as the Registrar General of Supreme Court of India.
Justice Siddiqui said that the Rajinder Sachar Committee Report was an eye-opener on social, economic and educational condition of the Indian Muslim community. “To find solutions to these problems, the Indian Muslim community will have to strengthen themselves,” he added.
In his presidential remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah said that Muslims will have to stop complaining for discrimination and work on educational development at higher levels. He said that he was never discriminated on religious grounds and went on to serve the country in a dignified manner.
Gen Shah said that as the Vice Chancellor of this great seat of learning, he has been tasked to work for educational uplift of Indian Muslims. “I can assure you that the day all Muslim children start attending quality education in schools, the conditions of Muslims will improve”, he claimed.
Gen. Shah said that the University has decided to establish schools in every district of Uttar Pradesh under the Sir Syed Educational Foundation in collaboration with the All India Muslim Educational Conference. “We have started this project with the first school in Muzaffarnagar, which will be operational in a month or two,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor further said, “We should take example of hard work and dedication of schools run by Christian Missionaries and build schools with Islamic ethos.” He said, “I believe that Madrasas have done a lot in serving mankind and we need to bring Madrasa students in the national mainstream”.
He pointed out that the AMU has started a Bridge Course for Madrasa students to assimilate them into the mainstream education. He said, “I am happy that 50 of our Madrasa students enrolled in the Bridge course have qualified entrance examinations of various courses in AMU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jamia Hamdard”.
Earlier, welcoming the guests, the Convener of the Seminar, Professor Asmer Beg said that after years of Sachar Committee Report findings, the state machinery is yet to look into the implications of the report. He pointed out that the reason of today’s gathering is that very little work has been done for the social, cultural and educational upliftment of Muslims and not much has changed since the Sachar Committee Report.
Prof Beg said that the minority students have been allocated government scholarships in the light of Sachar Committee recommendations, but the procedures to avail these scholarships are tedious and difficult.
Dr Faiza Abbasi, Assistant Director of the Centre conducted the proceedings of the seminar. Meanwhile, souvenirs were distributed to the speakers.
On this occasion, Sadaf Husain and M. Jalaluddin Tabish, students of MA were felicitated by the Vice Chancellor on being selected for Fulbright Language Teaching programme at the Salt Lake University and Yale University, USA, respectively.
A large number of delegates from all parts of the country will present papers in the two day national seminar