Minutes of the Meeting on Access to Education for Children of Minority (24-11-2016)

Minutes of the Meeting on  Access to Education for Children of Minority (24-11-2016)

A small meeting was called to raise the issue of the lack of Muslim participation in the National Campaign for Right to Education and the role of Muslim organizations and networks in increasing Muslim community involvement in education. It was sought to be emphasized that the involvement of every section of Indian society was needed to demand an education system from the State that was State funded, inclusive and equitable, an education system that was not led by the political ideology of the times raising but one which remained neutral, apolitical and scientific at all times. The RTE Act, 2009, promises such an education system and therefore its full implementation in letter and spirit by the State is imperative. The RTE Forum monitors the implementation of the RTE Act, 2009 operating on a campaign mode. An education system that swayed with the political ideology of the ruling political party tended to give rise to education quality and inclusion issues.

The idea to have such a meeting was initiated by Naaz Khair in consultation with Navaid Hamid. Navaid Hamid, the President of Majlis-e-Mushawarat, offered to host the meeting at the Mushawarat office. It was attended by representatives of a few Muslim networks and interested individuals. Names of the participants are listed at the end of this report. Majlis-e-Mushawarat is an apex body of Muslim organizations. These are a mix of political, apolitical, social, religious and educational organizations with extensive community outreach.

Participants at the meeting discussed Muslim education issues and the issues of Muslim community led organizations, while exploring possibilities of Muslim networks and organisations working together with the RTE forum:

·         The participant from Muslim Education Trust (MET) said that the Trust is involved in extensive work with thousands of minority educational institutions. However, since the RTE Act came into force, a conflicting situation had developed between schools exempted from the RTE Act and those that had not been exempted. There was a need to take everyone along while working with the objectives of the RTE forum. The educational concerns of minority educational institutions are not in variance from the objective of the RTE Act. 

·         Small private schools or learning centres: There are almost 17000 such learning centres catering to more than 5 lac students. One third of these learning centres are Muslim managed.  There is a need to acknowledge the contribution of these learning centres and extend official recognition to them. The RTE norms for private school recognition cannot be applied on these learning centres, which are much smaller in size. Closing down educational institutions with sizeable population of children studying in them is not a solution. 

·         Sharing of experience by Chandrakanta from CSEI of sustained advocacy with the RTE Forum to ensure the Forum’s involvement around Article 12 (1) c of the RTE Act as this provision aimed at the creation of inclusive schools in the long term through sensitization of students from better off backgrounds when they came in contact with EWS and DA students.

·         Muslim children are grossly under-represented in the RTE quota seats in private schools.

·         Only a small section of Muslim students study in minority educational institutions and an even smaller in fact miniscule percentage of Muslim students go to madarsas. Predominantly, Muslim students depend upon government schools for education.

·         The longstanding issue of lack of adequate number of government schools in minority concentrated districts/blocks was (Muslim majority areas within these) was raised. Even if there are schools, many of them are not located within the stipulated distance of 1 Km from the Muslim inhabited areas. The RTE Act provides for school mapping. There is an urgent need for school mapping to be undertaken in Minority Concentrated Districts.

·         Need to study minority budget: Minority budgets are reducing in key educational areas including scholarships. Within Minority budgets those allocated for Muslims are not in sync with the development needs of the Muslim community- e.g. of Uttar Pradesh where huge budget was allocated for the fencing of graveyards. Budgets for Muslims are also frequently diverted and budget utilisation is also very poor leading to smaller size budgets for Muslims over time. 

·         There is no dearth of NGOs in the Muslim community. However, involvement of the Muslim community in the social sector is considerably weakened on account lack of funds with Muslim support organizations to capacitate the Community led organizations. There is almost no initiative on the part of mainstream civil society actors to strengthen the programmatic and organizational aspects of these organizations.

·         Jamia Nagar/Okhla is the hub of Muslim organizations operating in the state of Delhi and in some other states as well. It will be critical for the Delhi RTE Forum to align with these organizations and vice-versa.

·         There is a need for Muslim organizations/networks to align with the National RTE Forum as well as with the Delhi state RTE forum and vice-versa.

·         Muslim organizations operating on their own fear the threat of backlash from vested interests on  using RTI to monitor government programs.

·         The Muslim community needs to be a part of the political movement for a strong National Public System of Education funded by the State. It is a curious phenomenon that Muslims are missing from almost all mainstream institutions- e.g. of Gandhi Peace Foundation was given. While it is said that Muslims and Gandhians are natural allies, today at an institution like the Gandhi Peace Foundation, Muslims are virtually absent. Muslim organizations will have to proactively join mainstream movements. Civil society also needs to introspect on the near lack of participation of Muslim organisations in mainstream movements and initiatives.

·         The status of Muslim education is very poor. Education of Muslim girls, particularly in the rural areas, education of children from backward Muslim communities, overall emphasis on education of Muslim children in rural areas, education of poor Muslim children in urban areas, Muslim children out of school, etc, are areas that need to come on the agenda of Muslim organizations and the RTE Forum on a priority basis.

It was proposed that a meeting takes place between RTE Forum members (at least 15 participants) and representatives of key Muslim networks and Muslim organizations based in Delhi to take forward the discussions initiated in this small meeting. The 17^th of December has been proposed for the meeting.

Names of Participants

1.      Navaid Hamid- President of Majlis-e-Mushawarat

2.      Mozaffar Ali- Education Representative, Muslim Education Trust

3.      Arman Ansari- Swaraj India

4.      Mohd. Shadab- SIO Delhi

5.      Yasir Atiq- SIO Delhi

6.      G. A. Qadir- Hamdard Delhi

7.      Abdul Rashi Agwan

8.      Shaheen Ansari- Arkitect India

9.      Salma Khatoon (Phd)- Jamia Milia Islamia

10.  Chandrakanta Bharti- CSEI Delhi

11.  Naaz Khair- Freelancer, Education, Social Sector, Delhi

Prepared by Naaz Khair

Listen to your inner voice, follow your heart and don’t ref regret later

"Listen to your inner voice, follow your heart and don’t ref regret later" This is what I felt when I heard the news that my Grand Mother (Nani jaan) passed away this morning (29^th October 2016). I had been to Varanasi several times in the last 6 months. My home (Ghazipur) is about 75 KM (2-3 hours drive) from Varanasi. Whenever I talk to my mother, she would ask me to visit home. But I would promise her to visit during the next time. I had a desire to meet my Nani jaan but I did not know this ...  Now I can also say that ‘tomorrow never comes’. I had not met my Nani jaan for quite a long time. And now, I will never be able to meet her again as she has left this world for heavenly journey.

inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon

May her soul rest in peace

You never know what is next.  So if such desire comes to your heart and if you can manage to fulfill it then please do not postpone.  Because “tomorrow never comes” 

Shaheen

29/10/2016

Good Morning & Have a Wonderful Day

Good Morning  & Have a Wonderful Day

There are many reasons why you should start the day with a liter of water.  But I am going to share a few selected one, which I experience every day. I start my day with a 1 liter of water.  And I strongly recommend to experiment  it.  In the beginning it is quite taxing and challenging as one may have to go to  wash room frequently for some days or weeks- till you get used to it and make it regular habit.  But that is the way body flushes out toxins.

So for healthy, happy and a strong person, it is important  to start the day with 1 liter water. When you wake up after a long sleep, your body is naturally dehydrated. No matter how much water you drank the day before, you have used up your stores and it’s time to refill the tank.

The first thing drinking water after waking up will do is provide your cells with much needed, life giving water. And you will be

 [1] Feeling more refreshed

[2] Having more natural energy throughout the morning

[3] Being healthier & happier

Anther important reason

After nourishing your cells, drinking water after waking up will flush unwanted toxins out of your body.  While you sleep your body repairs itself, replenishes energy and balances hormones. The result is toxins and other waste materials being released and waiting to be flushed out.

After clearing your body of these toxins,  you will feel great and be able to absorb more nutrients from a well-balanced breakfast.

Here’s a fun fact; your brain is 75% water.  If you’ve been drinking enough of it, you will know that without water your brain is not going to function at its optimal level.

And above all, It is s completely refreshing. So let us not waste this beautiful time (morning time) of the day with denying to experience beautiful feeling. It is spiritual, it is refreshing, it is beautiful feeling.

Enjoy it.

Don’t waste it

Life is beautiful, make it more beautiful with natural way.

One more thing:

It is also one of the secrets behind a glowing skin, as water removes the toxins from the blood. Drinking water also improves the creation of new blood cells as well as muscle cells, and helps you in losing weight. Also, make sure not to eat anything for a while after you drink water in the morning.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY

Reg

Shaheen

September 30, 2016

Source: Written by me with some facts from Internet

Happy Teachers' Day

Happy Teachers' Day

On the teachers' day, the only teacher coming to my mind is Pandit ji (Government Primary School, Kataila Village, Ghazipur). What I am today is because of solid foundation of primary school teachers. There were 4 teachers in my primary school and all of them were wonderful person. Many childhood friends could not study after primary school because there were not upper primary schools in my village.

I was not the best student in my class/ school but I could do better because my parents decided to send me to a school far away from my home/ village but my other friends could not get that opportunity. An opportunity to get access to school can be a great change maker in a life of a child. At least I can see from my own experience.

I can still see many villages do not have upper primary school and I can still see many children not completing even 8 years of school.

India is full of talent and the talents are in villages. They are being unused/ wasted just because we are not able to send these children to school.

I wish every child get access to 14 years of schooling in India.

Shaheen Ansari

05/09/2016

Death Knows No Age & Gender

Two years back my sister (5-6 years elder than me) left us and now her 18 years old son also joined her in her heavenly journey. He was ill for quite a long time but 18 years is too early for a child to leave this world.

While coming back to Delhi I was struggling with lots of questions and answer in train. Death is the only truth which every one (believer or non believer/ Aastik Or Naastik) knows but do not wants. No one has escaped the death and, we all know, no one will escape it either but look at ourselves. How we live. What we do. As if we are here forever.

The fact is that no one wants to die. Even those who are certain of going to heaven, also don’t want to die. Probably Death is the only discovery we all tend to ignore.  

In the train to Delhi, one question very often stuck me. And it kept coming frequently till I reached Delhi. Death knows no age and gender. If no one can escape death, then why don’t we do preparation for it?.

I don’t know what does it mean to prepare of the death but I guess it should be to be nice and humble and do what is right.

http://arkindia.blogspot.in/2015/09/be-nice-humble.html

It is a difficult task but smaller than death to do what is right, do what is just and do what is going to bring positive change in the lives of most marginalized section of our society.

Just a thought

Shaheen

July 25, 2016 

Female Autonomy throuhg Education at Doorstep

My journey to work to increase the level of Female Autonomy started way back in  1990 when my younger sister completed primary schooling (5^th grade) and had no option but to sit back at home and assist the mother in domestic works. Our society is very conservative.  It is part of our culture to keep the girls safe till they are married as their dignity is thought to be related to the prestige of the family. The concern for their safety was considered far more important than their education Thus, only boys were allowed to go to other village to pursue education after primary schooling.   

As a young boy, when I heard that my sister could not study further, I wanted to bring about a change the mindset but as you know behavioural change is not easy. Time flew by, and I grew older. As a young man doing graduation in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, I was committed to challenge this on two fronts: the family level, and the community level, in order to ensure access to school for girls of my village. 

1. I worked on the knowledge, attitude and practice of parents on girls’ education and prepared my family to agree to give a bicycle to my younger sister and let her go to upper primary school in Ghazipur city (about 7 KM from the village). This was a big cultural shift for which no one was ready.

-       Initially, in a patriarchal society like ours, it was very difficult to convince male members to let  girls go long distance on cycle for education. It was like committing one of the greatest sins of the world. 

-       During the process- I had to convince them through evidences in religious books, consulting religious leaders and meeting with community leaders to change their decision in favour of education for girls.

2.   Upgradation of primary school to middle school was my first priority and I channelized volunteers, social entrepreneurs and other like- minded supporters from our society. We patiently waited for the changes  and it eventually happened as we organized    awareness camps and used advocacy tools to educate people about importance of girl child. The message was very clear- “ if you educate a boy you educate a person & if you educate a girl you educate a generation”   

A group was formed with the key objective to increase ‘Female Autonomy’.   One of the important tools is to provide “Education at Doorsteps” and to break the vicious cycle of poverty by empowering girls and ensuring access to education at their own locations.

Behaviour change of the community towards girls’ education was one of the key areas of intervention. We intervened on this by working on the community’s knowledge, attitude and practice that slows the socialization process of girls. This mindset blocks the path to education.

Our organization’s dream is to provide every  child (with more focus on girl) access to quality education, healthy life and a society free of violence.

At a very young age I was able to identify the social problem in our society and I pledged to channelize available resources that could bring female autonomy.  Over the years we have created a mass base in favour of Changing the age old Mindset to keep girls at home. We have seen major changes in female autonomy in my village and a few others. . In 2003-04, the village’s primary school was upgraded to middle school. Now the children can complete 8 years of schooling in their village itself.

The social entrepreneurs and volunteers trained during the period have now started to create access to High School (9^th to 10^th Standard) in the village for both girls and boys.

There is a sea change in the attitude of the villagers as they view education as a key to success.  A remote patriarchal  village of India is now allowing   girls to pursue higher education-graduation and post graduation. . Village educated girls are now becoming teachers, advocates and are continuously making an impact in our community. There is a lot more that can be done in many more villages like Kataila and I am persistent on making a difference in the lives of half the population of this country.  I was able to identify similar problem in the slums of Delhi when I was a student. Thus we decided to bring Education at Doorstep for slum children for school dropouts.

We started Two Hours A Week Programme (THWP) in 1995, where every was motivated to  donate at least two hours in a week to help educate the dropout teenagers in the slums close to JNU campus. We opened an education centre to coordinate volunteer service and helped provide free education in their slum.  This program started with 5 volunteers but eventually  there were  200 plus volunteers and we were able to expand to different slums in South Delhi. 

In 2002 the THWP was registered as Ark Foundation with the aim to creating access to education within the walking distance of a child.

Children’s voice was core to our heart. We started a wall magazine called Baal Chaupaal (BC) where children would share their ideas and challenges. Later in 2012 the first printed version of BC came up. It is a quarterly children magazine to give voice to children. We hope to knit international voices of children through this magazine. 

"White Paper on Uniform Civil Code"

 "White Paper on Uniform Civil Code"

Uniform Civil Code is one of those non-issues which become alive at the time of every election (General election and state elections specially in north India). For last 20 or 25 years (when started following news) I only hear these 3 words only at election times.

This shows many things but 2 of them are the most important
[1] Unlike health, education or malnutrition issues, It is a marketable commodity. There are buyers for it.
[2] Politician from all the political parties know that this is not THE important issue.

The time has come to stop shouting at election rallies, press conferences and on social media. If it is important the government must set up a committee with people representing all the walks of life. from all the culture, from all the caste, religion & region.

And ensure that it is not the Uniform Civil Code of Mullahs, or Uniform Civil Code Brahmis or Uniform Civil Code Tribal of North East or Uniform Civil Code of any particular thinking or way of life.

Let this committee prepare a white paper on Uniform Civil Code and the whole nation discusses at TV channels, print media and social media.

Let us be serious.
Let no non-sense prevail.
Let South Indian and people from the North East also feel that "yes this is their Uniform Civil Code also".

Give the nation a white paper on Uniform Civil Code & encourage a healthy discussion.

Reg

Shaheen Ansari

04/07/2016