In an effort to put on the fast track implementation of Sachar Committee recommendations, the Government has decided to set up an expert group to look into grievances regarding alleged discrimination against Muslims.
The five-member committee, to be headed by eminent jurist N R Madhav Menon, will be under the Equal Opportunities Commission, announced last week by the Government as part of the Action Taken Report on the Sachar Committee recommendations.
The Menon Committee will draft a charter for the Commission, sources said on Tuesday.
Menon is expected to meet officials of the Minority Affairs Ministry to finalise terms of the Committee.
Equal opportunity
Meanwhile, the Centre had agreed to set up an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into grievances regarding alleged discrimination against Muslims while presenting its follow-up action on the Sachar Committee report.
The high-level Committee has been constituted to review the Delimitation Act and the concerns expressed by the Sachar panel regarding anomalies in the representation of Muslims.
Meanwhile, the Union human resource development ministry is toying with the idea of implementing the Fatmi Committee’s report on improving education for the minority community.
Human Resou rces Development Minister Arjun Singh had set up a high-level committee headed by his deputy M A A Fatmi to go into the Sachar panel’s recommendations on education for Muslims and the report was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The Prime Minister’s Office has now asked the HRD ministry to work out how to implement the Fatmi panel’s findings and the Minority Cell in the ministry is going into this issue, ministry sources said.
Among other things, the Fatmi Committee suggested the coverage of willing madrassas and maktabs by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, appointment of more women teachers in co-educational schools, encouragement of teaching in Urdu, establishment of multicultural schools and expansion of the Aligarh Muslim University and Maula Azad National Urdu University.
