Muslims Must Get Educated: U. H. Umar

11 october 2009

U.H. Umar, social activist and chairman of the Career Guidance and Information Center (CGIC), inaugurated the renovated office of the center on Saturday and said: “A revolution among Muslims is possible only through hard work and education.”

Mr. Umar feels that Muslims wrongly believe that there is a lack of opportunities for them. The aim of the CGIC is to eradicate this pessimistic attitude of Muslims and integrate them into the mainstream of the country. 

Mr. Umar said that the CGIC was established because of the revelations of the Sachar Committee Report, which said that Muslims in India are educationally backward. Mr. Umar said: “Only education can pull the community out of the quagmire it is in.” 

The CGIC focuses more on women’s education. Mr. Umar said: “Muslim women are twice removed from the mainstream. Given the absence of social and familial support, the center aims at providing academic, financial, and moral support to girl students.” 

The CGIC is a non-profit voluntary organization that organizes intense personal interactions and aptitude tests to help Muslim students find careers best suited them. The center first assesses the student’s aptitude and then offers the required academic support so that the student can appear for a variety of competitive exams.