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The Milli Gazette Online

Mumbai: The Indian Union Muslim League(IUML) has demanded amendment in the National Commission for Minority Educational Institution Act, 2004 in order to enlarge the functions and powers of the Commission to enable it to address the problems of minority education.

The IUML president GM Banatwalla recently submitted a detailed memorandum to Union Minister for Human Resources Development, Arjun Singh in this regard. The memorandum said that the Act restricts the functions of the Commission merely to rendering of advice to the Central or State governments on matters referred to it. A host of essential areas of action remain outside the ambit of the Commission.

The memorandum urged upon the government to empower the Commission to deal with the deteriorating educational condition of the minorities, the implementation of the National and the State Policies on Education in relation to minorities and the recommendations of various official bodies. The commission should also be given powers to study all judicial pronouncements on minority education and to give suggestions to the government to decide on the questions concerning the status of an institution as a minority educational institution and to ensure full implementation of article 30 (1) of the Constitution, the memorandum said. 

Even the powers of the Commission to look into disputes relating to affiliation to a University are limited. On disputes regarding affiliation, the jurisdiction of the Commission is restricted only to scheduled universities. The Commission is a statutory authority with all the powers of a civil court in the discharge of its functions but sans the power to enforce its findings or decisions. It can only report to the Central government for their implementation. Given the history of governmental inaction in matters concerning minority education, it may prove to be a failure, said the memorandum. «