Education, Careers & Professional News
NRIs To Launch Education Board For Indian Muslims
A body of American Muslims of Indian origin has decided to launch a board to aid Muslim educational institutions in India and to increase literacy in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam.
The American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origins (AFMI) decision to launch the All India Muslim Education Board was taken at a weekend retreat meeting held this month here.
The meeting, attended by Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai and A.M. Ahmadi, the chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and former chief justice of the Supreme Court of India, was held April 16.
The retreat, also attended by 40 non-resident Indian (NRI) professionals and community workers from across the US, discussed the many challenges faced by minority institutions in India and deliberated on how to alleviate them, said a statement issued by the AFMI Thursday.
It acknowledged the fact that it is very difficult to overcome these challenges individually and hence the decision was taken to form an All India Muslim Education Board which will serve as a unified platform for Muslim educational institutions throughout the country, it said.
The proposed board will provide a collective voice to Muslim institutions and will greatly help in restoring their rights denied by state or central governments.
The participants also discussed ways and means to increase literacy in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam.
These four states have been selected for special attention from AFMI as they have shown lacklustre performance as reported in the census report of 2001. In relative comparison, other states have shown good progress in Muslim literacy levels in the last decade, the statement said.
Kidwai and Ahmadi voiced their support to the creation of the board and offered their services in making it a success, it said.
Syed Samee, president of AFMI, expressed the hope that the board would accelerate the educational development of Indian Muslims in an organised and timely manner.
Syed Akram, president-elect of AFMI, said ideas generated at the meeting would form the basis for launching a formal educational campaign at the organisations national annual convention to be held in Dallas Sep 17.
AFMI is a North American-based grassroots organisation dedicated to the socio-economic and educational development of Muslims and other underprivileged masses in India.
AFMIs educational activities, notably its annual awards programme for Muslim toppers in Classes 10 and 12 across India, have been recognised for encouraging talent and promoting academic excellence among Indian Muslims.