By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Program for the Welfare of Minorities has, among others, a provision to appoint Urdu teachers in all Primary and Upper Primary schools in an area where Urdu language group constitutes more than 25% of the population. The provision remained on paper for two years until Zakat Foundation of India (ZFI) took deep interest, filed RTIs and awakened both the authorities and the community.

During the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09 not a single application was sent from any school from such areas in the country. Only during the current financial year (2009-2010), 42 applications have been received by the ministry, and all applications are from Punjab, none from UP, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh or other states.

“Some time ago, Zakat Foundation of India had drawn the attention of the Urdu community toward the Point No 3 of the Prime Minister's New 15-Point Program for the Welfare of Minorities. Under the Right to Information Act, ZFI was told by the Union HRD Ministry that, during the financial years 2007-08 & 2008-09 not a single application had been received (from any area all over India wherever Urdu language group constitutes more than 25% of the population) for the appointment of Urdu Teachers for Primary & Upper Primary levels. During the current financial year (2009-10), only 42 applications have been received (all from Punjab) and all these 42 have been sanctioned by the Union HRD Ministry,” said Dr Zafar Mahmood, President, Zakat Foundation of India.

[Photo by IndianMuslimsExplored]

For financial year 2009-10, the Union HRD Ministry has a budget grant of Rs 16 crore for appointment of teachers of three categories. Urdu is one of these three categories. Hundreds of new Urdu teachers can be freshly appointed in the next 2-3 weeks provided proper application procedure is ensured immediately, he said adding that after the period submission of fund allocation proposal will close. The scale of these teachers will be TGT scale in the state concerned. In addition to that, services of part time teachers can also be utilized @ Rs one thousand per teacher per month.

ZFI has translated into Urdu the text of the concerned scheme of HRD Ministry and put it on its website http://www.zakatindia.org/. As the ministry has not prescribed any application form for the scheme the ZFI has devised such a form and put on the website.

“Additional information has been gathered by ZFI from Union HRD Ministry, using the RTI Act. Consequently, a fresh ten-page document has been uploaded on its website that includes the Revised Scheme of HRD Ministry with relaxed norms and a copy of the letter dated 17 April 2009 through which the Union HRD Ministry forwarded the revised scheme to the State/UT Education Secretaries dealing with elementary education. ZFI has translated the revised scheme into Urdu which has also been uploaded on the ZFI website. No application form has been prescribed by the Government. For the convenience of school Principals, the ZFI has devised an application form using which the school principals can send their proposal to the state/UT government's elementary education secretary,” Dr Zafar Mahmood said.

Dr Mahmood added that the month of January 2010 is about to finish. The process of the Government's financial proposals/grants for the current year will end soon, may be after the next 2-3 weeks. He urged the school principals to urgently send their applications to the Secretary, Elementary Education Department of the state/UT government through the District Administration.

He also urged them to show a copy of the Union HRD Ministry's scheme and the covering letter to officer if he says that he does not know about the scheme. It would be prudent to also make spare copies of the application and send it directly through speed post to the (a) Secretary, Elementary Education of the state/UT government and even to the (b) Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (Secondary Scholarship Division), Ministry of HRD, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi 110011.

Dr Mahmood clarified that individual application by candidates directly to the government will not be considered. The candidates should submit their applications to the school principal concerned. He appealed to the selfless community volunteers in the state capitals, to monitor progress of the matter with the state elementary education secretaries and ministers in-charge of education.