From correspondents in Bihar, India, 01:00 PM IST

Five more campuses of the famed Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) are to open in five states in a bid to provide scope for more Muslims to get into institutions of higher learning.

Central Minister of State for Human Resource Development M.A.A. Fatmi Sunday said the campuses would come up in Bhopal, Pune, Katihar in Bihar, Mallapuram in Kerala and Murshidabad in West Bengal.

"This move will provide an easy opportunity for Muslims and others (to get) higher education," Fatmi said here.

According to AMU spokesman Abrar Ahmed, while there is no reservation based on religion in AMU, located at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, there is a 50 percent quota for the alumni's children, irrespective of their faith. Most students in the university are Muslims.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)