Boost for minority schools in state

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, March 23, 2007
The religious minority schools in Bengal will no longer have to wait indefinitely for a no objection certificate (NOC). The National Commission for Minority Education Institutions (NCMEI) declared on Friday, that if the state fails to give them an answer within 90 days, they would consider themselves NOC holders. The commission is visiting the city and met 83 Christian schools.
The schools belonging to Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Muslim and Zoroastrian communities will benefit from this provision. NCMEI has come into effect through a parliamentary act and has powers to ensure that the minority educational institutions get justice. “The state sometimes delay on an NOC application by the minority institutions. We protect them for harassment,” said Justice M. S. A. Siddiqui, chairman of NCMEI.
Even if the state government denies NOC, then the schools can reapply with the NCMEI and chances are high that they will get a positive reply. “The state government will not be able to obtain a stay from the lower courts on the judgement delivered by NCMEI. We will ensure that justice is given at the earliest. However, to avail of this facility, all minority institutions should obtain a certificate from us or the government,” said Justice Siddiqui.
Procuring an NOC from the state government is essential. It is only with the help of this certificate that the schools can apply for affiliation with the CBSE, ICSE or West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. NCMEI however, does not plan to give a directive to the boards, making them aware of the provision of minority schools getting NOC automatically if the state does not respond in 90 days. “This is now the law of the land. While applying for an affiliation, the schools needs to show their receipt of the NOC application by the sate government,” said Justice Siddiqui.
About 20 minority schools in the state, which is awaiting NOC from the state government, for over a year, will benefit. St. Xavier’s school applied for NOC for its girl’s school named Mary Ann on January 2006 and is still awaiting the final reply from the school education department.
In order to get NOC, the schools have to agree to certain terms and conditions, which infringe upon their powers. Justice Siddiqui asked the schools not to agree to harsh terms and if required, ensure that such conditions are rectified. The commission has added that the state cannot force quotas on a school even if they are giving grants to the institution. “The schools have the right to admit students from their community, teachers and non-teaching staff. The schools can also increase their fees as per requirement,” Siddiqui said.
The sate government will also not have the right to decease the number of seats in any religious minority institution. However if the state has fixed any eligibility criteria for recruitment of teachers, the institution has to follow it. “We will ensure that the minority institutions’ rights are well protected and the state cannot interfere. However we will also ensure that the academic excellence of the institutions is maintained. The schools will have to follow the basic eligibility criteria set by the state government for staff selection,” Siddiqui said.
(mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com)