Karnataka State Minorities Commission, conferred judicial powers

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Aug 19, 2016: Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Chairperson Bilkis Banu said that Karnataka state government conferred judicial powers to the commission . While other commissions set up by the state government already had such powers, the Karnataka State Minorities Commission was not one among them. The government recently has conferred judicial powers. This empowers the commission with civil powers including right to issue summons.

Interacting with reporters, Chairperson Bilkis said commission is aware of issue faced by schools run by minorities in obtaining recognition certificate. If 25% of students studying in such institutions are children from minority community, such schools will get recognition as educational institutions with minority status, she said. This rule has been brought in place to provide education to children from minority communities and help them progress in life by obtaining education.

Referring to the recent instance of a Hindu vigilante group creating ruckus in a school on the pretext that Arabic was being taught there, the chairperson visited the school in Bondanthila. The students were being taught Arabic, German and other foreign languages to equip them with new skills. The school management was teaching the language to help students who could possibly go to the Gulf in search of jobs in future and knowledge of Arabic will help them.