Creation of Natl Edu Comm for SC/STs demanded

New Delhi, May 19: A two-day conference on empowerment of weaker sections ended here last evening with the demand for establishment of a National Education Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Underlining that education was the most important means of empowering the weaker sections, it called for increasing their access to high quality institutions and bringing government schools on a par with them.

It also suggested pooling of plan funds for the welfare of STs and SCs into one kitty before they are actually distributed to various ministries, and to place it under the authorities created for the development of these sections.

Placing the funds under experts would ensure better use and stricter monitoring of the money spent, it said.

''These authorities are empowered bodies to plan for educational and other developmental needs of SCs, STs and backward minorities by identifying need-based programmes,'' said a declaration on the concluding day of the conference.

The meeting on 'Empowerment of SCs, STs and Minorities through Elementary Education' had been convened by Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

One more important suggestion was about the need for sensitising the community through 'trained social animators' towards the importance of sending children to school.

These was also a consensus among participants over the urgent need to improve school infrastructure and the quality of teaching besides ensuring strict monitoring of the functioning of schools.

Noting that only three per cent of GDP was spent on primary education, the declaration called for increasing the allocation for the sector.

High dropout rates, inadequate number of teachers, non-responsive teaching, lack of science education, lack of English medium schools and others were noted as some of the problems that dogged the schooling for the poor.

The participants also called for increasing seats in Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalayas.

UNI