The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will set up English medium Intermediate Colleges across Uttar Pradesh as a tribute to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the university, on his bicentennial birth anniversary in 2017.
Last week, AMU's vice chancellor Lt. Gen.(retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the All India Muslim Educational Conference, a 129-year-old organisation, to make the dream of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan become a reality.
He said the first college would start operating at Jaula village in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district from this August and the "process to appoint teachers has already begun".
Shah said these intermediate colleges would be recognised by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Stating that these institutions would be secular education centres where students of all faiths would be able to study, he said: "But there will be some reservation for Muslims."
Shah said Sir Syed Education Foundation already runs Aligarh Public School, a CBSE recognised institution, in Aligarh.
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An organising committee has also been constituted under the chairmanship of Shah.
Stating that they would be based on the pattern of Christian missionary schools, Shah said "We have to empower our students and equip them with good schooling so that they qualify for institutions of higher learning like IITs, IIMs, NDA (National Defence Academy).
On the basis of his personal experience with family and friends, Shah said he learned that young Muslims who had good schooling, found no problem "in qualifying for institutions of higher learning".
Born on October 17, 1817, in Delhi, Syed Ahmad Khan had established the university in 1886 to promote modern and scientific education among Muslims.