NAYI MANZIL YOJANA
On August 8, 2015, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs launched a new central scheme “Nai Manzil Yojna” in Patna, Bihar
To provide assistance to the educational and livelihood needs of minority communities, especially Muslims.
It is noteworthy that this scheme has been started with a holistic approach regarding the progress and empowerment of minority communities in the country and to improve the welfare of minorities.
Significantly, this was announced by the Union Finance Minister in the budget speech of the financial year 2015-16. This scheme provides a new direction and a new goal for all the students who have dropped out or dropped out of school and the students studying in madrasas.
The objective of this scheme is to provide educational participation to the trainees through bridge courses so that they can get 12th and 10th class certificates through distance education.
Along with this, they have to provide skill training on a trade basis in 4 courses, which are as follows-
(1) Manufacturing, (2) Engineering, (3) Services, and (4) Simple Skills.
The scheme will cover people in the age groups of 17 to 35 years from all minority communities as well as students studying in madrassas.
According to 2001 census data, minorities account for a little over 20% of India's 1,028 million population. Among them, Muslims constitute the largest minority at 13.4%, followed by Christians at 2.3%, Sikhs at 1.9%, Buddhists at 0.8%, Jains at 0.4%, and a small number of Parsis.
Minorities have a very high school dropout rate, becoming 14% at the primary level (as against the national 2%) and 18% at the secondary level (against the national 3%). The workforce participation rate of minorities is also lower than the national average (44% against the national average of 54%), indicating a lack of employability skills in the community.
The existing schemes of the government for the minority community provide for scholarships for education and limited activities for skill and leadership development for the minority population. As per a 2013 review directed by EDCIL (India) Limited, Ministry of Human Resource Development, the school dropout rates among Muslims are one of the greatest in the country and these dropouts mostly occur at the primary level.
The Sachar Committee Report on the Status of Minorities in India (2005) also mentions low education outcomes among Muslims due to various reasons such as poverty, low potential for returns from education, low access to schools, etc.
Therefore, it is important to have a program that ensures access to education that yields direct returns in terms of jobs. Accordingly, preparations have been made for the holistic development of the minority community through an integrated scheme of education and skill development, which aims at addressing the lack of education and employability of the minorities.
The objective of the scheme:-
The goal of Nai Manzil is to inventively utilize the helpless minority youth and assist them with getting feasible and profitable business openings so they can draw in with the mainstream economic activities. Following are the specific objectives of the project over the next 5 years-
To mobilize youth from minority communities who are school dropouts and provide their formal education and certification up to class 8 or 10 through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) or other state open school systems.
To provide integrated skill training in market-driven skills to the youth as part of the program.
To provide job placement to at least 70% of the trained youth so that they can get basic minimum wages and provide them other social security entitlements like provident funds, Employees State Insurance (ESI), etc.
Raising awareness and sensitization of health and life skills.
The implementation approach of the project is as follows:-
The current project is a pilot and will involve a number of activities that will enable the government to learn strategies for education and skill training for India's minority communities. This will lead to a baseline assessment analyzing the economic and social background of each family etc.
It is to be implemented in a phased manner across the country. Minority concentration areas will be the main geographical targets.
Registered Company/Firm/Trust/Society and/or Government Program Implementing Agencies (PIAs) will be appointed for this purpose.
The project will encourage innovation for minorities at every level, taking into account their social and economic conditions, to bring about equality in terms of educational outcomes and employability.
The project will be implemented by the Project Manager located in the Ministry of Minority Affairs under the chairmanship of the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs. He will be accompanied by a team of experts hired from the market to look after the various components of the scheme.
Scheme Strategy:-
Mobilization
Below the poverty line (BPL) minority youth in the age group of 17-35 years, who are school dropouts, are the main target population under the scheme. through various strategies suited to their culture.
