By Muslim Mirror News,
Guwahati, May 1: The two-day Conclave on Minority Educational Institutions (COMEI) of North East India was organised by ERDF at the RIST auditorium on the outskirts of Guwahati, with an aim to prepare a road map for promoting modern education in North East India.
After the welcome speech from Mahbubul Hoque, Chairman ERDF on the first day of the conclave on 30th April, Dr P A Fazal Ghafoor, a front ranking neurosurgeon of the country and President Muslim Education Society (MES), Kerala was honoured with the ‘Doyen of Education Award’ by ERDF at the inaugural session. The award was given in recognition of Dr Ghafoor’s contribution to the cause of education in India. Under his able leadership, the MES has established more than 150 educational institutions across the country including 7 professional colleges (Medical, Dental, Nursing and Engineering Colleges), 10 Arts & Science Colleges, 2 BEd Colleges, 40 CBSE schools, 8 State Syllabus Schools and 82 other institutions.
More than one lakh students are on the rolls of educational institutions run by MES. Dr Ghafoor has a vision to uplift the backward Muslim community, educationally, socially, culturally and economically. In most of his institutions, girls constitute more than 50 per cent of the total enrolment.
In his acceptance speech, he reminded the audience of his long association with the North East for his father in law A A Rahim was the Governor of Meghalaya from 1989 to 1990. He also spoke about the many similarities in the life style of the people of Kerala and that of the North East. He spoke at length about the role of the Muslim community in making Kerala the most literate state of the country. He stressed on the point that education is for all and that is the reason for which most of the minority-run educational institutions in Kerala are not reserving more than 50 per cent of the seats in their educational institutions for their own community, they are leaving the rest for others.
The Conclave was attended by a large number of self-financed Muslim minority educational institutions from across the North East and was presided over by Dr N K Choudhury, former Vice Chancellor, Gauhati University and Principal Adviser, ERDF.
Some 30 outstanding principals, teachers, educational institutions, and NGOs working in the field of education with special emphasis on the welfare of minority communities were honoured with ‘Edu Promo’ Award on the occasion. In the technical sessions that followed, S Zubair Ahmad, Senior Research Officer, Maulana Azad Educational Foundation, Delhi; Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj, Director, National Institute of Open Schools, Delhi; and other experts made presentations for empowerment and skill building of personnel associated with educational institutions in the NE region.