Context: Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment pulled up the Union government for the delay in approving the continuation of the Scheme for Providing Education to Madrasas/Minorities (SPEMM).

About SPEMM

• It provides financial assistance to madrasas and minority institutes. 

• Ministry: It was transferred from the Ministry of Minority Affairs to the Ministry of Education in 2021. 

• Implementing Agency: The Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education.

Sub-Schemes

1) Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM)

• It seeks to bring about qualitative improvement in Madrasas to enable Muslim children attain standards of the National education system in formal education subjects.

The salient features of SPQEM scheme are:

• To provide financial assistance to traditional institutions like Madrasas and Maktabs to encourage them to introduce Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Hindi and English in their curriculum so that academic proficiency for classes I-XII is attainable for children studying in these institutions.

• To provide opportunities to students of these institutions to acquire education comparable to the National Education System especially for secondary and senior secondary levels.

• To strengthen State Madrasa Boards opting for assistance by enabling them to monitor the Madrasa modernization programme and enhance awareness about education among the Muslim community.

• To provide quality components in Madrasas such as remedial teaching, assessment and enhancement of learning outcomes, Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan etc.

• To provide in-service training of teachers appointed under the scheme for teaching modern subjects of Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Hindi and English to improve their pedagogical skills and quality of teaching.

2) Infrastructure Development of Minority Institutes (IDMI)

• Infrastructure Development of Minority Institutes (IDMI) has been operationalised to augment Infrastructure in Private Aided/Unaided Minority Schools/Institutions in order to enhance the quality of education to minority children.

The salient features of IDMI scheme are

• To facilitate education of minorities by augmenting and strengthening school infrastructure in Minority Institutions (elementary/ secondary/senior secondary schools) in order to expand the facilities for formal education to children of minority communities.

• To encourage educational facilities for girls, children with special needs and those who are most deprived educationally amongst the minorities.

Additional Information

About Parliamentary Committee

• Parliamentary Committee is a panel of Members of Parliament that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.

• The committee works under the direction of the Speaker/chairman and it presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/chairman.

• Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament.

• They draw their authority from Article 105 and Article 118.

• Article 105 deals with the privileges of MPs.

• Article 118 gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.