The apex minority education watchdog has disapproved the criteria fixed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka mandating institutions to enrol between 25 per cent and 50 per cent students from a particular minority community for the grant of minority status.
The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) has asked the four states to align with its criteria that require an institution seeking the minority
tag to have admitted at least the same percentage of students from a particular minority community that matches its population share in the respective
state.
The Tamil Nadu government’s policy, in vogue since 2018, mandates that an institution set up by a minority community needs to have enrolled at least 50 per cent of its students from that community. The criteria is 30 per cent in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and 25 per cent in Karnataka.
As a result of such a high ceiling, institutions feel discouraged to seek the minority tag as it is difficult to admit such a large number of students from a particular minority community, experts said.
NCMEI member Shahid Akhter held a meeting with officials from the four states on October 16 and expressed displeasure as such a condition would deny minority
status to institutions and discourage philanthropists from setting up minority institutions.
Under the NCMEI Act, the state governments and the NCMEI are empowered to grant the minority tag to schools, colleges and universities to advance the education of a particular community. However, it has been seen that institutions set up by a particular community mostly enrol students from other communities.
Under the Constitution, the minority communities have the power to set up
and administer educational institutions of their choice. These institutions get exemptions from implementing reservation policies. They are allowed to reserve up
to 50 per cent seats for students of a particular community.
At the NCMEI meeting, the officials of the four states agreed to reconsider their criteria, a source said.
Jose Abraham, a Supreme Court advocate who has represented several petitioner institutions in the NCMEI, said: “The governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are saying they would withdraw recognition to a school if it does not meet the required percentage of enrolment of children from the respective community. Imagine communities like Parsis, Jains, Christians, Buddhists and Sikhs, whose share in the population is very low. To ensure 50 per cent enrolment from any one of these communities is impossible.”
Last updated on 02 Nov 2023
