New Delhi: Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Mr. Arjun Singh will inaugurate the HUNUR Project in the capital today.

The HUNUR Project, a collaborative project of the HRD Ministry and the Bihar Government which aims at free skills upgradation of Muslim girls, will be inaugurated by Arjun Singh at 4:00 pm today at the Indian Islamic Centre, Lodhi Road (Delhi).

The function will be presided over by Bihar Chief Minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar.

A scheme for providing free education to SC/ST students through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) will also be inaugurated at the function today.

NIOS has developed a unique scheme for providing skill training for girls studying in different schools of Bihar.

The scheme will be implemented through Maktabs, Madarsas and Darul-uloom and seven courses for skill training for 12,000 girls will be made available. The courses include Gram Sakhi, Jute Production, Cutting & Tailoring, Early Childhood Care & Education, Basic Technology and Beauty Culture.

Under this scheme, NIOS has made provisions for providing concessions related to infrastructure, fee as well as number of students at study centres.

The most significant aspect of this scheme is the provision of relaxation of norms for accreditation for Traditional Educationally Backward Institutions especially Madarsas and Maktabs.

It is envisaged that the skill training of the girls will help them in their future areas of work. NIOS will provide them free course material under the scheme.

The HRD Minister will also launch another scheme for providing free education to SC/ST students in Bihar who have taken admission in the NIOS with an aim of improving their access to school level education being provided by NIOS.

The Ministry will inaugurate the extended facility for On Line Admissions which are being conducted through the Ni-On Project of NIOS from this academic session. A number of books in Urdu are also going to be released on this occasion.

The On-Line Project was launched by Arjun Singh as a pilot project last year. NIOS was the first education institution to take this initiative for open and distance learners. More than 30,000 admissions took place through the On-Line mode.

A number of books will be launched today at the function including course material in Urdu Medium for Vocational Programmes, Persian Language and Tamil Language.

The function will be attended by many dignitaries including Mr. M.A.A. Fatmi, Minister of State (SEL); Mr. Hari Narayan Singh, Education Minister, Government of Bihar and representatives from grass root level organizations such as Imarat-e-Sharia and Rahmani Foundation.