New Delhi: The minorities can look forward to education and job reservations, while a system to modernise madrasas was also on the cards, the Congress-led government indicated on Wednesday.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government was exploring ways for providing more education and job reservations for minorities.

'Now there is a demand increasingly from minorities and Other Backward Classes (OBC) to see that seats are reserved in universities, colleges as well as government services. The question is can it be done? I think we have to apply our minds to this aspect and try to find out how it can be done in the best possible manner,' Patil said.

'We cannot say it cannot be done. Human ingenuity can be used in order to help the people who should be helped in these areas. And that is the attitude of the government.'

Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh, however, said: 'So far the central government has not taken any decision to reserve seats on the basis of religion.'

But he also added, 'Minorities will also be considered under the OBC category'.

The Sachar Committee, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March 2005, found that Muslims lag behind on all socio-economic indices - such as education, health and employment - and made comprehensive recommendations for 'setting the community on the road to progress'.

Minority Affairs Minister A.R. Antulay tabled a report in parliament in August last year, saying that the government had accepted all but three of the several recommendations and suggestions of the Sachar panel.

The government has already proposed to set up an Equal Opportunities Commission for the political involvement of the minorities at the grassroots.

It also intends to set aside a portion of priority sector loans, especially in agriculture and industry, for minorities.

Public sector banks will open more branches in Muslim concentrated areas and 15 percent of the priority sector lending will go to Muslims in the next three years, according to government sources.

The government also proposed to improve the basic amenities in 90 identified minority-concentrated districts and 338 towns spread across the country.

Meanwhile, Arjun Singh said the number of madrasas are increasing not only in the border areas but all over the country and Muslims have a constitutional right to establish their seminaries.

Singh was speaking here at the conclusion of the third annual meeting of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities' Education (NMCME).

The minister, however, said that a system was being evolved to monitor the syllabi in madrasas and added: 'Once the new system is implemented, I hope we will be able to solve many problems.'

Singh said that the committee meeting noted, 'There are certain concerns raised by those running the madrasas of how it (the new system) will affect their control over their institutions and those concerns are being addressed.'

The minister was referring to the HRD ministry proposal to set up a Central Board of Madrasa Education to modernise, standardise and regulate the madrasa syllabus and hold regular examination through the board to enable the Muslim seminaries educate youth to join mainstream of the employment market.

'There has been noticeable difference in the dropout rate (among children of minority community) this year compared to previous years,' the minister said, citing the success of the NMCME, which has been monitoring the implementation of government schemes to improve the educational status of minorities.

Asked if he could say the same of girls' dropout rate Singh said: 'Surely girls' case is different for any number of reasons including social factors because of which women are not being allowed to come forward. But even this is changing and girls themselves are coming forward which is also influencing the society.' IANS