Empowerment of weaker sections through quality education

BABA SAHEB DR. AMBEDKAR’S PARIVIRVAN STHAL DEDICATED TO THE NATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DR. AMBEDKAR NATIONAL MEMORIAL

SETTING UP OF 100 SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTRES

CONSTITUTION OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

YEAR-END REVIEW 2003

Empowerment through education with emphasis on quality education particularly for Scheduled Castes and minorities has been the focus of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment during 2003. This is to enable the youth belonging to Scheduled Castes to be able to compete on their own merit in the job markets in new dispensation of globalisation and liberalisation. This aspect of the Ministry’s new thinking was highlighted recently by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He told the Members of Parliament belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes that we have to make students belonging to SC/ST communities highly qualified so that they can come up the social ladder without the crutches of reservation. The Ministry has taken several initiatives and many more are in the pipeline. It launched Dr. Ambedkar National Scholarships Scheme for meritorious SC/ST students in order to encourage a spirit of achieving excellence among them. To begin with 193 students belonging to SC and 94 from ST Communities having secured highest marks in regular 10th Class examination conducted by 19 Education Boards/ Councils in the country were given scholarships involving an expenditure of Rs.69.40 lakh this year. The award of scholarships in the remaining states and UTs is in process.

The Ministry allocated 40 crore rupees as 100% assistance to states for arranging remedial and special coaching for SC/ST students studying in class !X to XII. While remedial coaching aims at removing deficiencies in school subjects, special coaching is provided with a view to prepare students for competitive examinations for entry into professional courses like engineering, medical etc. The Ministry finances yet another scheme for providing free coaching facilities to eligible SC students to compete successfully in the competitive examinations. About thirteen thousand beneficiaries were helped through this scheme during 2002-03.

The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC students, which has emerged as the biggest educational scholarship scheme of the Government of India, was amended to link scholarship rates with Consumer Price Index of Industrial Workers and increasing the income ceiling for eligibility. Rs. 1544.40 crore have been earmarked for the Scheme during the 10th Plan. More than 153 crore rupees were released for the Post-matric Scholarship Scheme during 2002-03. About 19.26 lakh Scheduled Caste students are expected to benefit from the scheme during the current financial year. Similarly under Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme, an anticipated 4.64 lakh beneficiaries are to get the benefit during 2003-04. The scheme assists the children of scavengers, flayers and tanners irrespective of their religion, to pursue education upto matriculation level. . Rs. 87 crore have been allocated for this Scheme during the current Plan.

Two new schemes for promotion of quality education are on the anvil. These are setting up of residential schools for SC students in high concentration SC districts for which Rs.10 crore have already been earmarked in current budget and Government to arrange admission in public schools of deserving SC students and meet the costs to this effect. Persons with disabilities and minorities were also on the centre stage of the Ministry’s educational empowerment schemes. National Scholarship Scheme for Persons with Disabilities has been started to award 500 scholarships each year for pursuing technical and higher education. 180 scholarships were awarded in February 2003.

The Prime Minster Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee launched three schemes for the educational development of minorities, viz., Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Literacy Awards Scheme, Maulana Azad National Scholarship Scheme and Establishment of Maulana Azad Sadbhawna Kendras Scheme. Under the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Literacy Awards Scheme, four awards would be given every year to reputed organisations/institutions for their outstanding contribution in promoting education, particularly among girls belonging to educationally backward minorities. The Maulana Azad National scholarship Scheme is to assist meritorious girl students belonging to minorities who cannot continue their education without financial support. Under this scheme, a scholarship of Rs. 10,000 each is being given to 1200 selected girl students during the current financial year. Under the Scheme of Financial Assistance for Establishment of Maulana Azad Sadbhawna Kendras, universities, reputed academic and research institutions and local bodies are to be given a maximum grant of Rs. 10 lakh.

Economic Empowerment

Yet other important initiatives have been for the economic development of people belonging to Scheduled Castes, OBCs and minorities. The Ministry has allocated major part of its resources for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes. Rs. 5,786 crore constituting two thirds of the total 10th Plan outlay has been provided for the scheduled castes development. The allocation is over Rs. 2,216 crore more than the amount released for the welfare of the Scheduled caste during the IXth plan. In the first year of the Xth plan Rs. 9,44.82 crore were provided for implementation of the schemes meant for the development of the Scheduled Castes. Even the other programmes that are not exclusively for Scheduled Castes and OBCs are primarily directed towards the most disadvantaged groups of population living in backward, rural and urban slum areas.

Welfare of Backward Classes

The Government notified 17 advices received from the National Commission for Backward Classes for inclusion in the Central List of Backward Classes during this year These advices pertained to Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Chandigarh.

The Ministry asked the National Commission for Backward Classes to review the income criteria for excluding the Creamy Layer from amongst the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and also to evolve a formula for periodic revision of criteria and income ceiling for determining the Creamy Layer.

The Prime Minister announced setting up of a Commission to study the problems for Denotified communities and Nomadic and Semi-nomadic communities. The Commission would identify these communities state-wise, study their socio-economic needs and recommend specific interventions required for their overall development.

Ambedkar National Memorial

The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee dedicated to the nation Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar’s Parivirvan Sthal at the 26 Alipur Road in Delhi where Baba Saheb lived from 1st November, 1951 to 6th December, 1956 when he breathed his last. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the development work of the Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial which would be developed into a Museum.

Ambedkar Foundation has translated and published Baba Saheb’s works in Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu & Urdu.

Mainstreaming Minorities

Mainstreaming of minorities received added impetus with a sharp increase in grant of concessional loans to poorer sections among them for income generating activities. A study revealed that 77 percent of beneficiaries of the loans sanctioned by the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) constituted Muslims. As already stated above, promotion of education among minorities has received equal importance. NMFDC has launched a scheme whereby students belonging to minority communities are provided educational loan upto Rs. 75,000 at 3% rate of interest. The Central Wakf Council sanctioned nine Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) under the newly launched scheme for imparting technical/ vocational training to poor Muslims. Five of these ITIs have been sanctioned in Uttar Pradesh, three in Bihar and one in Orissa. One of the ITIs located at Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh is exclusively for girl students while the remaining ITIs will have both male and female trainees. A National Convention on Educational and Economic Development of Minorities was held in New Delhi after 38 years.

Welfare of the Persons with Disabilities

The Government notified the Constitution of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities. This has been done in pursuance with the announcement made by the Prime Minister for the welfare of the persons with disabilities on the Independence Day. The Nine-member Commission would recommend to the Central Government specific programme of action for facilitating full participation of the persons with disabilities in the social and economic life of the country. This would involve provision of right education, vocational training and poverty elevation packages, employment and other support services so that the disabled persons are assessed for their abilities. The Commission would also review the status and conditions of Institutions delivering services in the disability sector.

New Delhi hosted 6th International Abilympics featuring participation of more than 3,000 contestants from over 50 countries. It highlighted the importance of education and vocational training for the disabled by providing an ideal platform for the participants to get an exposure of the latest technology in job oriented skills which, in turn, helps in their inclusion into the mainstream of society.

The Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), Kanpur organised camps in Assam, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh to distribute aids and appliances to persons with disabilities with poor among them getting aids and appliances free of cost. The objective of the scheme is to eliminate some problems of daily living by the persons with disabilities by making them available suitable, durable and standard aids and appliances.

Over hundred thirty districts have been identified for providing comprehensive rehabilitation services at the doorsteps of persons with disabilities. Services identified include setting up of composite rehabilitation and facilitation centres in collaboration with district authorities and utilizing existing resources. 85 District Centres have become functional.

Social Justice Centres

100 social Justice Centres announced by the Prime Minister on Independence Day are being primarily set up at district level for the welfare and empowerment of disabled and weaker sections of society. These centres are to help target groups of the various schemes in rehabilitation and training. The Social Justice centre would also help in creating awareness about various schemes aimed at empowerment and economic upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society.

Social Defence

Social Defence also witnessed several initiatives to strengthen and expand programmes for providing care and protection to such segments of society, which are victims of destitution, neglect and abandonment such as children and the aged. Several concessions have been extended to senior citizens by various Ministries/Departments at the behest of the Ministry of social Justice and Empowerment. These include uniform age for male and female for availing rail travel concession, priority in getting medical care, telephone connections, higher interest on deposits, and concessions in payment of taxes.

The Ministry’s 24-hour free phone service for children in distress has been extended to 55 cities. There has been sixty percent increase in funds to NGOs for rehabilitation of street children. Under the Integrated Programme for Street Children the Ministry is currently supporting 207 NGOs in 21 states/UTs working on an average with 300 children in each project.

A three-day International Meet on Adoption was organised by the Central Adoption Resource Agency, CARA, in New Delhi in which delegates from 15 countries representing the foreign governments and adoption agencies apart from representatives of the Government of India, State Governments, Union Territories and Indian NGOs participated. The Meet was the first ever programme in India to share experiences with different receiving countries and their Central Authorities who have either ratified or signed Hague Convention and have adoption programmes with India.
(Release ID :514)

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