A meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education today witnessed a war of words between Gujarat Education Minister Ramanlal Vora and social activist Shabnam Hashmi who alleged that Muslim students were discriminated against in schools in the state after 2002 riots.
While presenting her views on the need to improve the quality of teaching, Hashmi said that the teachers should be impartial and they should treat students equally. When she cited the example of the alleged discrimination against Muslim students, who were denied admission in some schools in Ahmedabad after the 2002 Gujarat riots, Vora protested.
He asked her to name the schools that had denied admission to Muslim students but when she could not, the minister said that such allegations should not be levelled without any proof.
However, Hashmi said she "can produce the list of schools later", to which the minister agreed.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who chaired the CABE meeting, also demanded a copy of the list. "If you have any information, please send the list to the Gujarat Minister and to us also," he said.
Later, talking to reporters, Sibal said he has requested Hashmi to supply the information. "Let the data be supplied. We have to see what is the evidence of discrimination. And what is the jurisdiction of the central government.
If there is discrimination at the certain level, certainly the issue can be discussed. It can be discussed at various levels," he said when asked what action the Centre would take if the schools are found guilty.
source : http://abna.ir
