Muslims should adopt modern education to overcome their social and economic backwardness says Ansari

Updated on: Thursday, May 30, 2013

Vice president Mohammed Hamid Ansari has said that Muslims should adopt modern education to overcome their "social and economic backwardness". "(Lack of) Education is the biggest impediment to the community's progress, prosperity and empowerment," he said after inaugurating a two-day Muslim Education Conference organised by the Maulana Azad Vichar Manch in Mumbai Wednesday.

Over 1,500 delegates are meeting to deliberate strategies for vocational and technical education, teaching Muslim girls and the utilisation of Wakf funds for education. Ansari said that even though Islam places great importance on learning many Muslims in India have long ignored this need. This has led to high unemployment, rampant under-employment and people remaining restricted to traditional lowly-paid professions. He pointed out that the Ranganath Mishra and Sachar Committee reports had corroborated this fact with data. Amid this bleak scenario, Ansari said, the enrolment of Muslim children at the primary level has improved.

However the dropout rate remains high. Calling for introspection and corrective action he cited the example of Muslim nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey which are prospering owing to an educated population.

Muslims should adopt modern education to overcome their social and economic backwardness says Ansari

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