(IFER)
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INDIAN MUSLIM EDUCATION SCHEME
(TALEEMI JAMAAT)
Submitted by Zahid Jamil
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of the scheme is to inspire a group of people OR more importantly
identify those who are willing to work towards this cause for their reward
in the life hereafter or who are otherwise willing to help a downtrodden
community. They will volunteer their services for the cause of educating
the Muslim masses in India. It needs to have similar spirit as those working
for Tableegh Jamaat and may be called Taalemi Jamaat.
A registered body in India Faith Social and
Educational Welfare Society is undertaking this project beginning with
the north Indian town of Saharanpur. Incidentally, the great spiritual
movement of tableeqh Jamaat also has its roots in this city as many of
its founding members hail from Saharanpur. Few citizens of this city have
now taken initiative of working towards Taleemi Jamaat.
The volunteers of Taleemi Jamaat will inspire
Muslim ummah to achieve a minimum education of class 12 for each and every
Muslim child. They will also help deserving students to achieve university
education and excel further as per their ability. The aim is that socio-economic
conditions of Muslim children should not become hindrance in achieving
education to the best potential of a child.
The scheme will have the following components:
i) School admission campaign : to encourage the parents of socially and financially disadvantaged families to send their children to school. Run special programmes during new school term season to identify children of the school age and convince the parents to send their wards to schools. Taleemi Jamaat committee will do all what is needed in arranging admission of the poorest and socially backward children in the nearest available schools.
ii) School Retention Campaign: One major objective of the Taleemi Jamaat will be to encourage parents not to pull out their children from schools during primary or secondary classes and each child should complete a minimum of class XII. Taleemi Jamaat committee will coordinate with various schools to identify students who are pulling out at any stage. They will then convince the parents of such students to maintain their children in the school.
iii) Evening Libraries: Run evening libraries in various Muslim localities which will provide local children academic atmosphere for after school hours study which is generally not available at their homes. The current library run by FAITH is an ideal example of such a programme.
iv) Tutorials: Run special tutorial classes in above libraries with a minimal charge (or free for the poorer children) 2-3 times a week for children of all classes. In particular, students with high potential should get specialised tutoring with the objective of improving the results and enhance their ability for admission in professional courses.
v) Financial Incentive: Provide financial assistance to the families who are forced to send young children to work, instead to school, for meeting the family living expenses.
vi) Coordination with Muslim majority Schools in the city : Hold special meetings with Muslim schools management to ensure that the government funds are utilised in optimum fashion, schools create educational environment and Muslim school results are amongst the best in the town.
vii) Education Awareness Programme: Run special campaigns among Muslims to emphasise the importance of education. Many amongst the ordinary Muslims do not see education as the best means of earning a living as a majority of average educated Indians are unable to get a decent job. They need to be told that a Muslim youth will enhance his/her ability to do any form of work or business if he/she has basic education.
STRUCTURE:
Each city will have a team of senior/reputable citizens to patronise the
scheme. A group of dedicated Muslim professionals (retired academicians,
lawyers, doctors, engineers, others) will form the core committee. Other
dedicated Muslims (senior students, teachers, young professionals as well
as retired people) will work as volunteers to assist the core committee
in running the programmes. They will be asked to join the Taalemi Jamaat
to offer few hours every week to work towards this cause.
Each city will have a self supporting structure.
Business people/professionals as well as other well off people including
NRIs from the city will be urged to donate financially towards this cause
(say 1-2 day of earning each month). The money collected will help in
paying for school fees, running of evening classes and most importantly
to pay the poorest the replacement income which their labour child generated
before going to school. Schools in the city will be urged to waive fees
of the poorest children.
The core committee will nominate a team (2-3
members) of most trustworthy people in each city to collect the finances
and spend it as needed.
IMPLEMENTATION:
The above programme has been launched in the city of Saharanpur on 28
Dec 2010 by visiting NRI from Sydney, Australia Mr Zahid Jamil. Mr Fayyaz
Ansari and Mr Zia Ansari, retired academicians, Mr Anwar Ahmad Siddiqui
Advocate, Mr Naeem Taleb, Dr. Javed Jamil, Qazi Shaukat Hussein and Professor
Majid Jamil of Jamia Millia, Delhi representing Faith Social and Educational
Welfare Society along with other social workers and volunteers promised
to take up the programme. They presented their views and agreed to draft
a plan for the coming year.
Faith Social and Educational Welfare Society
intends to run similar programmes in neighbouring cities over next couple
of years and then expand it to the entire state of Uttar Pradesh and then
spread it to the whole country. Finally, it may have state coordinating
offices in state capitals, a national office in Delhi and overseas branches
in Sydney and other Western and middle eastern cities with large populations
of NRIs. Saharanpur, Delhi and Sydney offices will coordinate the activities
right from beginning. The initial task will be to find appropriate persons
in Saharanpur and subsequently in other cities who are prepared to volunteer
their time, energy, money towards this cause.
Special Comment:
It is obvious from the above plan that we need people who are prepared
to give time without any financial incentive. Most of the people will
work voluntarily 3-4 hours each week. The scheme will need to employ an
administrator/coordinator for maintaining books and do necessary tasks
assigned by the core committee. We will also hire a few professional teachers
and pay them at market rates for tutoring classes 10 & 12 as well
as for coaching the potential students for competitive exams in various
fields.
There are thousands of people in each city who give 3-4 hours each week to Tableegh Jamaat, many of them spend their own money to go out for 3, 10, 40 days or even for four months within the country and in some instances internationally. It is quite obvious that Muslim community is willing to devote their energies and money if they believe in their cause. We need people with similar dedication, who would firmly believe that their efforts would be rewarded in the life hereafter due to this great act of haqooqul Ibad. We may have to ask for endorsement from our ulema so that masses are made to believe that tasks undertaken by Taleemi Jamaat would be treated as Ibadat by Allah SWT and rewarded in this life as well as in the life hereafter.