September 2011

Towards framing a National Policy on the Education of the Indian Muslim

Introduction:

With a National Literacy rate of 63.07%, India fares the worst among the BRIC nations in Education. Only 10% of the roughly 20 million who enroll in the first grade every year finish high school. A BGCG (the Boston Globe Consulting Group) report states that 40% of India’s workforce of 400 Million is Illiterate and another 40% comprises of school dropouts.
The Indian standard of Literacy is low. For purpose of the 2001 Census,a person aged seven and above, who could both read and write with understanding in any language, was considered to be Literate. 70% of the students attend Public schools and 30% attend Private Schools. Students attending Public schools are seen to recieve substandard education.
“Without hundreds of millions of Indians receiving a better basic education, it will be virtually impossible for India to achieve its “dream potential,” stated a recent Goldman Sachs report. Janmejaya Sinha, MD of BGCG says “… We will have an army of young people left behind and increasingly frustrated with their lot. They not only have the potential to derail India’s growth prospects, but also challenge the basic fiber of our society”. Bidisha Fouzdar, who works with the Education campaign group Child Rights and You, says the lack of School education “ is like a silent Emergency”. Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen opines “India does have many achievements in the success of a relatively small group of privileged people well trained in higher education and specialized expertise. Yet our educational system remains deeply unjust. Among other bad consequences, the low coverage and low quality of school education in India extracts a heavy price in the pattern of our economic development”. “The quality of learning is pathetic in government schools..35% of children in class five cannot read or write”__Anurag Behar of the Azim Premji foundation.
There are growing cries for the revamp of India’s educational system. The calls for reform include passing the Right to Education Act; opening up Primary and secondary education to Private investment; easier entry of foreign universities seeking to establish campuses in India; better monitoring and evaluation systems etc.

The status of the Indian Muslim

The Muslim Literacy rate is 41.27% versus the National Literacy Rate of 63.07%. Muslim women have 21.66% literacy rate versus the non-Muslim women literacy rate of 40.54%. There are less than 2% Muslims in government jobs. Of the 479 judges at the all-India level, only 30 are Muslim that makes it just 6. 26%. In the IAS, the Muslim Percentage is a mere 2.7%. Of the 3,284 IPS officers, just 120 are Muslims (3.65%). In the Central Govt. ministries, the figures are pathetic. Of the 59 Secretaries in the Home Ministry (Joint Secretaries, Directors, Advisors etc), the Percentage of Muslims is ZERO. The situation isn’t different in the Labor, Power, Defense, Finance, External Affairs, Personnel, Public, Pensions and Grievance Ministries. Of course, the HRD and information and Broadcasting ministries do have an officer each out of 26 and 33 respectively, making it 3.44%. Of the total 426 officers in all the ministries, only nine are Muslims, which means a meager 2.11%. (Mr Firoz Bakht Ahmed cites the following stats in an article titled “Why are our Madrasas dithering on Reform?”  Dated July 26, 2010 in http://Right-to-Education.Blogspot.com.) It is estimated that 66% of the Muslim Literate attended Government schooling, 4% went to the Madrasas and 30% attended Private Schools.
“After the September 11 attacks, the lives of Muslims became more insulated. Even in elite English medium schools Muslim children face discrimination and suspicion. In many non-Muslim middle class and upper middle class colonies they do not get a house on rent nor can they buy one. Untouchability has come to them in another form—through religion, not caste”…Kancha Iliah, director for the study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive policy, MANU University, Hyderabad.
The Free and Compulsory Education for all the world’s children forms the backbone of the International Human Rights law. The International community has made pledges to meet the MDG “Millennium Development Goals” and the objectives of “Education for All” (EFA) include the goal to ensure that by 2015 all children have access to a Free and compulsory Primary Education of Good quality.  It is the recognition of Education as a Public Responsibility. The Govt. of India passed the Right to Education Act in 2010 guaranteeing education for all in the age group of 6-14 years.

Why the Educational failure?

The shortcomings of the Indian Education can be summarized as:

1. Denial of access to Education: The Indian Education system reflects it’s Class and Caste based nature. It follows a path of preferential treatment to the elite and practices discrimination against the Poor and the Minorities. The lack of Prioritization of Education is seen in the low allocation of the Indian budget to Education (3.5% of the National GDP). Within this budget, it is Higher Education constituting the Universities and the prestigious Colleges (the IIT, IIMs, the National Institute of Technology’s etc) that consumes a greater proportion of the budget and NOT Primary education (the vehicle for Mass Literacy). There is a sore need for the Democratization of Education and Training.
2. Low Quality:  Public Schools across the country are infamous for lack of Infrastructure (building, class room, desk and chairs, books etc), Teacher absenteeism, corruption, political influence etc
3. Absence of Teacher Training is a critical reason for the substandard Government school education. In a recent interview with the Minister of Education of Finland, which has scored very well in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), he identified the investment in Teacher preparation as being the single contributing factor to this achievement.
4. Low pay for the Teachers: Most private institutions pay low salaries and force teachers to work six days a week; the student to Teacher ratio is high and the Teacher is burdened with overwork. Government schools and its agencies like the Sarva Shiksha Abhyan recruit “volunteer teachers” and pay them miserly Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 salary per month!
5. Limited Education: Minority students attending Madrasas are taught in Urdu and their studies are confined to Theology. Their education denies them the learning of Modern Subjects and stunts their growth.
6. Delink between Study and Jobs: Education must serve multipurpose goals.. the elevation of the mind and spirit as well as allow an individual to be a productive person. An Education that does not link Study to active work creates an army of unemployed and builds frustration as well as poses a danger to society.

Modes of Education:

Transformative changes have occurred in the Educational field in the last few decades. New developments in Pedagogy and Teaching methodology; new Educational Information Technology applications; Online Education, Distance Education, Adult Education and Continuing Education; extensive availability of Software, Hardware, Text books and Open Source Ware have opened doors to disseminate quality Education on a mass basis.
One prime example is that of IGNOU.. Indira Gandhi National Open University. IGNOU has shown the way in which all the above can be used. It is currently catering to the educational needs of 4 million students. A big chunk of the students are those who were earlier deprived of education or were pessimistic of getting it. It is providing various streams of Education.. Literacy to Adults, Vocational and Technical Education, Regular Education, Distance Education, Online Learning etc. It is working with UNESCO and other International agencies, charging reduced fees and using innovative methods to broaden its appeal.. It uses the Infrastructure of its Partners to conduct classes. It is able to leverage all instruments like Radio, TV and Satellite to bring education to millions.  Its shortcoming is that it deals primarily with Higher Education. The quality of Education it imparts is substandard and the degree it awards is discounted in the educational market. However it is a great experiment and we need to develop tens of such Universities with a focus on Elementary Education while upholding the Quality of Education.

The Usage of Technology in Educational growth

Computer Science has made possible the wildest dreams that man could think of in the field of Education. Digitization has enabled corporations to bring together the information available in the world’s top Libraries on one platform that is easily reachable. The Google search enables one to research and access any information that is required, instantaneously.  ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software allows huge institutions (Universities) with tens of thousands of students to be run without a hitch.   Databases with Terabytes of information pool all records of every student and place it on the desk of the Administrator. Changes in schedules and planning can be done way ahead using the Management software. For those who need flexible timings, there is Online Education and also Distance Education. In short, Education can be optimally expanded and quality brought into it with the Tools that exist today.
Web streaming and Web conferencing allow Mentor Teachers to give Lessons in one corner of the world and the same can be followed around the world. Radio and Mobile phone lessons are seen to be very popular in the Third world since they lack IT infrastructure. Video, TV, Interactive Boards, Software, Customized software, Hardware are commonplace in the Developed world and are coming up in the developing world.
What is missing is the Political Will and the commitment to Education on the part of those who are running the Establishments. They still adhere to the notion that Education needs to be exclusive to a few and it is best served by limiting its growth to themselves and those who serve them.

Private Investment in Education:

Many Equity funds are lining up to Invest in Private Education from K-12 as well as in Higher Education. It is even being considered as the “new silk route” where high profitability is achievable. Foreign Universities have been given the Right to establish Partnership with Local Educational institutions and they are actively pursuing the same. Minority owned Educational Institutions have mushroomed in the past two decades providing mainly Higher Technical Education. The vast number of seats in the colleges has allowed tens of thousands of Minority students to enroll in colleges. Minority Institutions have focused on giving Seats to those who can pay hefty sums of money for Professional seats (Medical College, Dental College, and Engineering College) and are seen to have discriminated against Minority students who had good grades but did not have the financial means to pay them. In the above cases Minority Institutions are seen to be of advantage to upper middle class students who can afford to pay the High fees. Its negative consequences is that it creates elite students who will have a huge advantage in the Job sector and will be endowed with skills to successfully manage and run businesses while those unable to afford this education must remain content with lower jobs and lower skills, serving the interests of the elite. In some states (Andhra Pradesh) the Govt. is giving Tuition fee reimbursement to students pursuing Professional degrees and have low family income.
Investment in Education by Muslims (locally and from NRI’s) will definitely enlarge the growth of Education.  This needs to be taken up by the community on an All India level so that Investment is not frittered and Investor is assured the safety and gain from his Investment.
The focus areas of Educational investment should be in the K-12 level and also in Vocational and Technical Education. It should work on establishing Girls Schools, Girls colleges and Girls Hostels so girls can stay and study. Teacher  Education Centers where Teachers are given Training to Teach; Adult Education centers where Adults are educated on job skills and given awareness of social programs meant to help them and are taught the skills that will enable them to utilize the programs.  Specialized coaching centers where the cream of the community is given coaching in the preparation for Competitive State services exams like IAS, IPS etc as well as other competitive exams catering to the Central and State govt. sector as well as the Private sector. Investment in Technology that caters to educational growth through popular means like Radio, TV channel, Print and Mobile phone will also tremendously enhance Educational growth.  The motto of Investment should be less Profit and more of “Social Responsibility”.
Social Investment in Education is also being taken up by corporate houses like Tata, Infosys, HCL, Wipro etc. They provide Training to their employees to make them come on par with industry needs. They are also building Universities, giving access to regular students. The approach of the Azim Premji foundation is to focus on Providing Teacher Training. To quote Mr Anurag Behar “We did not want to go into establishing islands of excellence. We could have said, lets establish 100 great schools where we would take underprivileged children” but decided against it since it would mean neglecting the tens of thousands of schools that need help in qualitative improvement. So far they have provided Teacher training to 20,000 schools in nine states and are establishing a Teachers Training University.

Working with RTE and the Governments Strategic Plan

The RTE Act will ring hollow if the Government does not work on bringing Quality education to Government run Schools and Colleges. This is where the predominant majority of Indians go to learn and it is also where most Minority students attend. The RTE act would have schools set up in the neighborhood so that they are in walking distance to students.  This will call for building of tens of thousands of schools in the country. This quantitative growth must not have qualitative growth missing. This is the key to Educational improvement and is a humongous task.  A high commitment, ample funding and Innovative means are needed to effect qualitative improvements.
Muslim students attending Madrasa education should be allowed to avail this Right to Education where they obtain not only their Theological education but also receive regular education and are educated to take the standard Board exams and also pursue regular Higher Education or Vocational education, as per their choice.
One of the provisions of the RTE Act is to allocate 25% of the seats in Private aided and unaided schools as well as “specified category” schools like Kendriya Vidhyalaya and Navodaya Vidhalaya for “children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the Neighborhood”.  We need to actively see that the Quota does not discriminate against Muslim students of the neighborhood who are poor and qualify for the seats.
The Government has drawn Strategic plans to connect 31,000 colleges through a national Knowledge network, to bring wireless Broadband to every village and connect the villages using Fiber Optics. It is proposed to have 1500 Universities in the near future.  We need to understand the implications of this and work with the Government in the formulation of plans that are inclusive of Muslims, taking their input and also giving them opportunity to work with the Plan. This needs to be done on an All India level by a Steering committee appointed by the community.

Building Political Strength to effect gains

The Muslim community has in the past sixty four years since Independence remained a divided community….divided in its ranks by political and individual groupings as well as regional, theological and ideological grouping. This will not die away but on issues that concern the community as a whole, we need to come together and build one platform where the national issues are debated, formulated, articulated and worked on. This needs to be a non-political and non-ideological national group of eminent persons who have shown their commitment and capability over a period of time. The absence of a National front and a National body that puts the interests of the community at the forefront has never been greater than now.  Lacking this, we have been taken for a short ride by all secular parties that were supposedly in favor of the Muslim community. Established Muslim parties have acted either for their self interest or at the behest of others who wanted to use them for their own ends, and the concern of the community-at-large was never thought of.  There has been a lack of vision, foggy thinking, subservient attitude, and an approach of playing to their audience using superficial issues without understanding the ramifications on the national level. This needs to be countered and new attitudes and new working put in place. AFMI can play a constructive role in this. To be effective here too in the USA, we need to build one front of the Indian Muslims and unite with all organizations that are working in this area. 
Political Empowerment through Struggle, intelligent coordination within the Community and coalition building with those that support us and have commonality of interests, is required. We should shun appeasement policies directed towards the community and build a Political front that will work in Parliament and at the Center as well as in all States and at the District and at Mandal level. We need to stand on our feet and not work as secondary forces assisting other’s strategic vision and growth.   Only when we have such a strength, can we expect recognition and respect and consideration from the National powers and only then will we have our fundamental Rights as citizens guaranteed…Whether they are the Right to Education, Right to Civil Liberties,  Right to Reservation and Right to Decent livelihood.

Formation of National Committee and State committee

Committees need to be formed at the National, State and District level on specific issues concerning the Community--- on Education Policy, on Economic Empowerment, Social Empowerment, on Political empowerment etc. These committees should have representation from all sections of the community. These committees should deliberate the issue and assign the work to a manageable Steering Committee that will act on the recommendations of the National committee. The Steering committee should be made of eminent persons of the community with solid track record showing excellent capability and commitment and be allowed to work on the issue unhindered, until the next annual meeting of the committee. At the state level too, there need to be Steering committees appointed to take up the work and entrusted with full responsibility.
On the issue of Education, the National committee should take a stand on:
How best can Muslim education be pursued in the Govt. schools? How can accessibility be broadened to include the Poorest among the community? How can we bring Education to Muslim women? How to tap into the possibilities and opportunities arising out of the RTE Act? How to coordinate with the Govt. towards the unbiased and non-discriminatory implementation of the RTE Act? Should we channelize the communities limited resources on developing “Centers of Excellence” catering to the Minority elite or broadbase and democratize education to include the Poor and the marginalized?
How can Madrasa students be served best so they learn Theology as well as Regular subjects; how can they be made to take standard Board exams like Xth and X11 grade and allowed to pursue Higher education? How can Vocational education be brought to them?
How to channelize resources that are brought from Investors within the country and by NRI’s? What guarantees can be given to the Investors? How are the resources to be utilized? It should Identify opportunities for Investment at the National, State and District level.
Establishing relationship with National and International agencies that work in the Educational realm and monitoring the relationship and making it effective.
How to build a Databank that will pool relevant data and collect data? How to use the Data to further Educational work for the community?
How to project the Muslim Educational issue in a favorable light that evokes sympathy and not charges of appeasement from the Majority community?
It will act as an Advocacy group on behalf of the Indian Muslims and build rapport and support for its Educational work with the leaders of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) countries and solicit their support.

Working with International and National Agencies:

Mr Azim Premji made an exemplary donation of $2B to his Educational foundation called the Azim Premji Foundation. Likewise a number of Educational Trusts are seen actively working in India. Also in the USA (Ford Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates foundation etc) and Europe, there are tens of Non-governmental and Non-profit organizations focused in bringing the benefits of Education to the door step of those who are deprived of it.  These organizations need to be tapped.
UNESCO, USAID and many other International organizations are committed to the principle of EFA (Education for All) and to enhancing Education to the poor and the marginalized.
OPEN SOURCE WARE is a non-proprietary source of free information that has been put to Public use by Universities, Foundations, Governments etc and is a huge source of valuable educational material that can serve multi needs.  Educational material on the Web (Example www.KhanAcademy.com) etc are also very useful learning tools for the serious student and need to be brought home to the student.
It is not enough to establish a relationship but it is necessary to nurture the relationship and show openness, flexibility and accountability when dealing with these Agencies. Honesty of purpose, credibility of those who are at the helm and transparency in working are necessary components for working with them on a sustained basis.

 

ROAD MAP:

National Committee formed by all sections /Groups of the Community
National Steering Committee on Education
State Steering Committees on Education
District Steering Committees on Education

National Steering Committee

1. Formulates the community position on Educational issues of concern to the community; coherently articulates them to the Central Govt. and to the media; mediates them with the Central Govt. and passes them to the State committees for execution.
2. Works with International and National foundations and Trusts towards meeting its Educational goals
3. Formulates the community position on the allocation of Waqf property for Educational Institutions and establishes criteria for availing the same
4. Works with the OIC countries and requests their support
5. Establishes guidelines for Investment in Education and identifying areas where it can best serve the community
6.  Works with Central govt., on Govt. Strategic planning and synchronizes its work with that of the Strategic plan
7. Works as an Advocacy group for Minority Educational Institutions with the Central Govt.
8. Monitors the execution of the RTE act in practice as applied to the community
9. Delegates the work to the State committees and overseas its work
10. Coordinates working with National Steering committees on Economic Empowerment, Political empowerment and Social Empowerment

State Steering Committee

1. Follows instructions of the National Steering Committee
2. Works with the State Government towards implementation of RTE Act and works in sync with State Govt.’s strategic planning
3. Monitors the implementation of the RTE Act at the State level
4. Works with NRI businessmen and Local Businessmen towards Investment in Education
5. Works with National and International foundations and funding institutions
6. Works with OIC funds as per OIC guidelines
7. Builds a database of existing Minority Educational Institutions, Madrasas and statistics pertaining to Minority students in the state so it helps in the framing of National and state policies
8. Acts as an Advocacy group for Minority Educational Institutions at the State level and work with the State Education Ministry and the Minority Ministry
9.  Monitors the allocation of Waqf properties to Minority Institutions and acts as a watchguard against its misuse
10. Delegates work to the District committees and oversees their work

District Committee

1. Follows instructions of the National and State Committee
2. Works at the District level with the District collector towards the implementation of the RTE Act and other Educational plans of the State govt.
3. Works with the Education Dept and Minority Ministry at the local level towards achieving its objectives
4. Builds a database of existing Minority Educational Institutions, Madrasas and statistics pertaining to Minority students in the District
5. Works with NRI businessmen and Local Businessmen towards Investment in Education at the District level
6. Monitors the allocation of Waqf properties to Minority Institutions and acts as a watch guard against its misuse
7. Works with Mandal level committees and oversees them

CONCLUSION

I would like to quote from the Conclusion section of an article written in February 2009 by Mamoun Abuarqub in www.islamic-relief.com titled “Islamic Perspectives on Education”.
Islam has a holistic view of human development, which views education and knowledge as central. Islam encourages the acquisition of knowledge and its use for the benefit of humanity. Furthermore, the principles of justice, equality and equity are important in Islam; by extension, this entails acquiring knowledge, wisdom and skills to carry out one’s duties. While knowledge is needed to fulfill religious and spiritual responsibilities, it is also highly important for achieving social and economic development, for the wellbeing of the community, and for ensuring social harmony, freedom and human rights.

The Qur’an and ahadith indicate that knowledge and education is important for all Muslims in order for them to fulfill their duties and obligations to Allah and humanity. As such, it is clear that obtaining knowledge and providing equal access to education for all sections of society is of central importance in Islam. While focusing on economic and social development is fundamental for international development organizations, Muslim Faith Based Organizations focus mostly on relief work rather than on long-term development projects, which would include education (underlining is mine). As illustrated above, both the acquisition and the provision of knowledge are obligatory in Islam. Therefore, Muslim FBOs should consider focusing on education as obligatory while setting their priorities. Furthermore, education for marginalized groups such as girls and members of disadvantaged sections of the society should have a priority in project planning. The calls from international institutions as well as the teachings of Islam make it imperative that Muslim FBOs focus on providing access to quality education for all as part of their agendas, especially in those areas that are relatively deprived such as many developing countries.

Javeed Mirza is a multi-talented individual with strong skills in Education, Developmental Economics, Business and Technology, having actively pursued these subjects/careers for the past thirty years.  He is a dual citizen of USA and India. He was born in Warangal, AP (India) and came to USA in Nov 81. While in India he obtained Bachelors in Engineering (with Honors) from the Osmania University campus college. While in College he was a social activist and worked for Democratic rights of students and working people and campaigned for Civil Liberties.
In the USA, he did graduate study in Political Economy and has a PhD (ABD) in the subject from the New School University of New York; he also has a Certificate of Advanced study in computers in Education from Long Island University, Brooklyn,NY. He taught Mathematics, Economics and Computers to Inner City High School students working for the New York City Board of Education for 13 years. In 1996 he started IT Consulting Company, TAJ Software, bringing 400 plus high quality IT specialists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other parts of the world to the USA. He was a founder member of EKTA-NY, an organization meant to foster friendship and unity among the diverse South Asian Diaspora of NY.