Rehman Khan bats for Tipu Sultan University in S R Patna

Union minister for minority affairs K Rehman Khan said, here on Saturday, a university in memory of Tipu Sultan will be established in Srirangapatna for the development of minority communities in the state.

“According to Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, religious and linguistic minorities have the provision to establish and administer universities. Fifty per cent reservation will be provided for minorities, while the other 50 per cent will be under general category in the university,” he said. Reacting to the opposition received for the establishment of the university, he said there was no point in opposing the move.
100 new schools

He said the Central government was contemplating of opening more than 100 high schools in Kendriya Vidyalaya model. “The Centre has identified 90 districts in the country having a minority population of more than 25 per cent, which includes Bidar and Gulbarga in the state,” he said. A project has been proposed to develop basic facilities and to promote education in the districts and an annual aid of Rs 50 to 60 crore will be provided for the districts, he said.

Funds

He said Rs 1,000 crore has been reserved for the National Minority Development and Finance Corporation. The funds will be distributed among beneficiaries as loans under minority development corporations in the states.

“Over 1.5 crore minority students are being given scholarships by the government. From January 1, the amount will be transferred directly to their bank accounts,” he said.
Speaking of the up-coming elections in the state, he expressed confidence that the Congress would come back to power. “People are fed-up with the present state government. Congress workers should unite and create awareness about pro-people programmes of the Central government”, he added.