Ministries lock horns over minority education again

NEW DELHI: The turf war over minority education between ministries of minority affairs and HRD has restarted after a lull. The ministry of minority affairs has made its case before the Prime Minister for gaining control of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, the National Commission of Minority Educational Institutions and modernisation of madrasas and Urdu medium schools. These institutions are currently under the HRD ministry.

The HRD ministry is not ready to give in to these demands. It has argued that education and promotion of Indian languages are part of its mandate. It has argued that the ministry of minority affairs has the role of overseeing whether activities of ministries like HRD and health are in the best interest of minorities and not to take over functions of these ministries.

The ministry of minority affairs, formed early this year, made a pitch for the National Commission of Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI). However, this plea was not entertained by the Cabinet Secretariat while allocating business for the newly formed ministry of minority affairs.

The HRD ministry has argued that NCMEI is a specialised institution dealing with protection of educational rights of minorities. Further, the NCMEI is a statutory body constituted by an act of Parliament, hence it can’t be under the administrative control of any ministry.

Given that the Commission’s sphere of functioning requires dealing with the university system and autonomous organisation in the sphere of education, it would be practical for the Commission to be serviced by the ministry that deals with education.

After all, HRD ministry’s core responsibility is education. More pertinent to claims is the fact that even when minority affairs were under the purview of the ministry of social justice and empowerment, it was the HRD ministry that had the mandate on education-related matters.

Similarly, the HRD ministry has argued transferring the National Council for the promotion of Urdu language would be undesirable, as it would send a signal that Urdu is merely the language of minorities.

In the same vein, it has been argued that the modernisation of madrasas scheme pertains not to religious instruction but to the teaching of non-religious subjects in an attempt to bring madrasas on par with other schools.