The meeting was attended by Shri K. Rehman Khan, Hon'ble Minister of Minority Affairs, Shri P.B. Naik, Hon'ble MOS, Social Justice and Empowerment, Lt. General Andaman & Nicobar, 13 State Education Ministers, representatives of States and Union Territories, CABE Members, Heads of Autonomous Organisation, Vice Chancellors and Senior Academics. Shri Ashok Thakur, Secretary (HE), cum Member Secretary, CABE, Shri R. Bhattacharya, Secretary Department of School Education and Literacy, Chairman, UGC and AICTE were also present in the meeting along with other senior officials of the Central and State Governments.
As a mark of respect to the late CABE Member Shri Vinod Raina, condolence was paid and rich tributes were made to his remarkable contributions to education sector. A minute of silence was observed as a tribute to the departed soul.
Hon'ble MOS (HRD), Shri Jitin Prasada, in his opening address highlighted the thrust and focus of the Ministry of HRD in the XII Five Year Plan in keeping with the vision of a Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. He said that the Ministry will continue to focus on the four E's Expansion, Equity, Excellence and Employability. He highlighted the achievements made in many of the ongoing schemes and shared the broad roadmap for education sector and postulated on the strategies that will be employed to achieve the identified goals.
Shri K. Rehman Khan highlighted the development deficit among Muslims, which is the largest minority comprising 14%, amounting to 22.2 crore of the population. He urged CABE to look at the issue not as a religious one but as a social demand as no development can take place without an inclusive approach. He desired that all efforts must be made to implement Article 30 of the Constitution safeguarding the educational rights of the minorities. He also desired that RTE be implemented in right earnest so that children from socio-economic backward classes are admitted under the 25% reservations as per neighborhood criteria.
Thereafter, the agenda items were discussed and based on the deliberations, the following resolutions were taken. Click next to know about the agenda.