Rich tributes paid to Maulana Abul Kalam on birth anniversary

Hyderabad: A threadbare discussion on various aspects of education took place on Thursday to commemorate the 133rd birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Experts threw light on his invaluable contributions which led to a network of educational institutions spreading in the country. Pandit Nehru did not find anyone more competent than Azad to become the first Education minister, speakers said, paying tributes to the visionary.

Teachers, students and educationists gathered in large numbers at the National Education Day organised by the Association of Minority Educational Institutions (AMIE). The speakers said Azad called for democratisation, secularisation and universalisation of education, as he believed national-building was possible only through education. An animated discussion on re-enrolment of school dropouts and out-of-school children and role of budget schools was held to examine the post-pandemic situation. Mohd Abdul Azeem, Secretary, referred to the educational emergency being talked about these days.

It required standard operating procedure (SOPs) to ensure a safe and secure environment for reopening of schools. According to the UN report 2020, nearly 1.7 lakh learners across 190 countries were affected by the pandemic. What it meant was 94 per cent of the world student population was impacted by Covid. A K Khan, Advisor, Minority Affairs, said Azad had left his deep imprints. Though he received early education in Arabic and Persian at home, he had a high intellect. He spoke about Hindu-Muslim unity when he was just 24 years and did not like freedom coming at the cost of this unity.

Dr Sajid Ali, AMEI secretary, spoke about the challenges faced by budget schools and private institutions, particularly budget schools, need as much attention as government schools without any discrimination. In the country 50 per cent of students get educated through 4.5 lakh private schools. A majority of parents (73 per cent) prefer private schools, as they want better learning for their children.

Economist Amirullah Khan praised the role of private schools and said the quality of education provided by them was 70 per cent better than that in public institutions.