Madrassa: India
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This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Government aid, recognition
2017: UP to geo-tag madrassas
Rohan Dua, UP madrassas under Yogi govt lens, August 30, 2017: The Times of India
To Be Geo-Tagged, Will Have To Give Govt Layouts, Teachers' Bank Details
All madrassas across Uttar Pradesh will be geo-tagged by the state government through a GPS-based service as part of what the BJPled dispensation has described as its efforts to weed out fake students and staff. In addition, the state government has also asked madrassas to share maps of classrooms, photographs of the building, and the teachers' bank account details. The institutes have also been told to upload each employee's Aadhaar card details on a government portal.
The order, a copy of which is with TOI, was issued on July 31. The government has directed the registrar of the UP Madrassa Shiksha Parishad to include all the state's 16,000 recognised madrassas in the geo-tagging initiative. Consequently, each madrassa will be identified by a `unified district information system for education (UDISE)' code.
Issued by principal secretary Monika Garg, the order states that each madrassa would have to be registered with a newly launched government website -madarsaboard.upsdc.gov.in -by Octo ber 15 to retain their recognition and state government aid.
“Development“ has been listed as one of the eight main reasons behind the move.“The launch of the portal and other services is to ensure development, competency-mapping, simplification of process and improvement in edu cation quality of madrassas,“ says the order.
According to the order, the move aims to “curtail duplication of teaching staff as well as beneficiary students“.The bank accounts of the teaching staff and educationrelated officials at the madrassas will be verified through a public finance management system.
“Only after the financial details of teachers and staff have been collected and their bank accounts verified, (will) their salaries be disbursed,“ the order states. As part of the initiative, each madrassa will also have to state its building layout, area of campus, etc on the website. “There would not be any tweaking in the data related to the madrassas as all district minority officers (DMOs) will be able to lock the details with a digital signature. No madrassa will be able to alter the data related to any madrassa after thorough verification,“ the order states.
Ahead of this Independence Day , the Yogi Aditya Nath government had issued a controversial order making videography of celebrations mandatory for madrassas, but not government schools.
2016-17: 50,000 madrassa teachers not paid by Centre
Over 50,000 madrassa teachers in 16 states, including UP, Uttarakhand, MP and Jharkhand, registered under the Centre’s Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (SPQEM) have not been paid the central component of their salaries for two years now, forcing many to quit their posts.
SPQEM was introduced by the Union HRD ministry in 2008-09 to promote quality education at madrassas. Under it, madrassa teachers are entitled to salaries to be paid by the Centre. Graduate teachers are paid Rs 6,000 per month, while, PG teachers are paid Rs 12,000, which constitute 75% and 80%, respectively, of their total pay. The respective states are to pay the remainder of the salaries.
Madrassa teachers plan protests in UP
President of Akhil Bharatiya Madrassa Adhunikikaran Shikshak Sangh (ABMASS) Muslim Raza Khan said, “Half of the 18,000 madrassas in India are in UP, with around 25,000 teachers. Across 16 states, teachers have not received the central government component of their salaries for the second year now. In some states, they haven’t been paid for three years. We plan a protest in Lucknow on January 8.”
Confirming that salaries had not been paid, registrar of the UP Madrassa Board, Rahul Gupta said, “Rs 296.31 crore was not released by the Union ministry for 2016-17. In 2017-18 so far, the funds have not been released either.”
“The Union ministry has been giving states various reasons for this situation, from non-submission of utilisation certificate by the states to not having Unified District Information System for Education code for these institutions,” said Halim Khan, former member, CGIAC.
2018: Deoband instructs 3,000 affiliated madrassas not to accept government aid
Pankul Sharma, Don’t take govt aid, Darul tells madrassas, March 15, 2018: The Times of India
In order to avoid the government’s “unwanted interference” in madrassa management, the influential Darul Uloom Deoband seminary has instructed over 3,000 affiliated madrassas across the country not to accept government aid. Most of the expenses of these madrassas are met by donations from the community. Government aid is mainly needed for paying teachers’ salaries. Now this component also will be met through community donations, according to the seminary.
Among the eight major decisions taken in the Rabta-e-Madaris (general body meeting) on Monday, madrassas’ management have also been asked to keep their property records updated and develop cordial relations with non-Muslims, inviting them to madrassas for festivals and other celebrations. The working committee comprises 51 members including 10 from the Shura (executive body) of Darul Uloom, 10 senior ustads (teachers) and 31 representatives of affiliated madrassas.
Speaking to TOI over the phone, Mohatmim (rector) of Darul Uloom, Abul Qasim Nomani, said that their stand had always been very clear about not accepting government aid, in any form, to run madrassas.
“Once madrassas start to take government aid, they are bound to follow government guidelines meant for other schools. We have our own disciplinary codes, uniforms as well as syllabus to follow and don’t want the government interfering in these matters. We don’t want the government to ask us for details of daily attendance of students and teachers and other such things. We may be given guidelines on when to open or close the madrassas. So we asked all 3,000 madrassas not to accept government aid,” Nomani said.
Mufti Arif Qasmi of Darul Uloom Waqf, a madrassa affiliated with the seminary said, “Darul Uloom has earned a unique identity among Muslims across the world. Any kind of interference is completely against the basic nature and principles on which Darul Uloom stands. It is a well-established fact that in extending financial aid to madrassas, the government starts interfering in those matters also which are deeply connected with religion.”During the working committee meeting, senior teachers of Darul Uloom expressed concern over a section of non-Muslims which had a wrong impression about madrassa education.
“For better relations with people from other religions, it was decided that we will observe national festivals like Independence Day and Republic Day, inviting non-Muslims to our affiliated madrassas. We will also invite them for annual events and other important celebrations,” Nomani added.
2018: New dress code for madrasa students in U.P.
After introducing modern education in madrasas, the Yogi Adityanath government has mooted a new dress code for madrasa students to end their “demarcation” from other school pupils.
The State government is yet to disclose the new dress code for madrasa students, but said it might also fund it.
“The aim of the U.P. government is to bring madrasas on a par with other educational institutions in every sense. Till now, students in madrasas have been wearing ‘kurta-pyjamas’ but now this dress code will make it more formal... We might also try to meet the expenses,” said State Minister for Muslim Waqf and Haj Mohsin Raza here on Tuesday.
Stressing that it is only the BJP-led governments which have doing justice with the minorities, the Minister said the other political parties have been considering them as only a vote bank.
Mr. Raza said the current dressing style of madrasa students reflects a clear demarcation between them and the students of other schools which will come to an end now. The State government has already introduced NCERT books in the madrasas of Uttar Pradesh in a bid to bring their students on a par with their counterparts in other schools and to modernise the education in madrasas affiliated to the State Madrasa Board.
“Till now, students in madrasas wear white kurta-pyjama, which reflects a particular faith. We will very soon propose a new dress code for them,” the Minister said. He refused to elaborate on the new dress code. “Our intentions are clear as we work with transparency and believe in ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’,” he said.
Islamic holidays
Friday holiday
2017: Assam breaks a British-era tradition
Breaking a British-era tradition, majority of madrassas in the state remained open on Friday after the BJP-led state government declared the weekday holiday as illegal.
Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who brought to the fore this tradition followed by madrassas in the state without government sanction, on Thursday said, “From next Friday , if any madrassa remains shut, the head teacher will be placed under suspension immediately .“ According to the state go vernment portal, there are 707 recognised and provincialised madrassas in the state. It was during the British rule in 1934 when the provincial govern ment of Assam established Madrassa Education Board in Sylhet (undivided India) with nine madrassas to educate the Muslims. Friday has been a holiday since then. After Independence, the institution was renamed as State Madrassa Education Board, Assam.
Sarma said governmentrun madrassas will only have an hour's break for the `jumma namaz' (Friday prayers) instead of a day's holiday .
UP madrassas told to cut Muslim holidays/ 2017
Yusra Husain, UP madrassas told to cut Muslim holidays, January 3, 2018: The Times of India
After making it mandatory for madrassas in Uttar Pradesh to render the national anthem and videograph it on Independence Day, the Yogi government on Tuesday came up with an annual calendar that reduces discretionary holidays around Muslim festivals while making it
compulsory for madrassas to remain closed on festivals of other faiths. Clerics that TOI spoke to expressed unhappiness at the move.
Hitherto, madrassas in UP were closed only during Muslim festivals with the exception of Holi and Ambedkar Jayanti. But the new calendar marks Mahavir Jayanti, Buddh Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, Mahanavmi, Diwali, Dussehra and Christmas as holidays.
UP madrassas get 7 new holidays
While seven new holidays have been added, 10 discretionary holidays allowed to madrassas for festivals like Id-ul-Zuha and Muharram have been reduced to four days. Also, these cannot be taken as a cumulative, but one day at a time when clubbed with a festival.
Registrar of the UP Madrassa Board Rahul Gupta, explaining the move, said, “The 10-day holiday used to be at madrassas’ discretion, but now this is predetermined and distributed round the birthdays of great leaders. It’s important for students to know who these people were.”
“It has also been done to bring madrassas on a par with basic school education following the general rule of law,” he added.
A madrassa official TOI spoke to was unhappy with the proposal. Eijaz Ahmed, president, Islamic Madarsa Modernisation Teachers’ Association, said, “Madrasas are religious institutions that do require different kinds of leave around a number of minority events for which the former discretionary leave was used. There is no problem in addition of holidays of other faiths, but it is totally wrong to cut down the ten discretionary special leaves.”
Judicial judgements
Gauhati HC: Assam can plan to turn madrassas into general schools
Prabin Kalita, February 5, 2022: The Times of India
Move To Cover State-Funded, Not Private, Madrassas
The Gauhati high court upheld a law passed by the Assam assembly to close and convert all 401 statefunded madrassas to schools for general education. The governor had given his assent to the legislation a year ago. Around 900 private madrassas, community madrassas or Qawmi Madrassas and Maktabs — almost all of which are run by Jamiat Ulama, not the government — will remain functional in the state. A division bench of Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and justice Soumitra Saikia dismissed a writ petition filed by 13 people challenging the Assam Repealing Act 2020 that the assembly passed on December 30, 2020. Those against the law had argued that it infringed the right to education and religious freedom. But the court affirmed that secularism means treating everyone equally. “We live in a democracy. . . Therefore, preference given by the State to any one religion, in a multi-religious society like ours, negates the principle of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India. It is thus the secular nature of the State which mandates that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds [Article 28(1)],” the court said.
“Division Bench of Honble Gauhati High Court in a landmark judgment delivered today upheldthe Act of 2020 to repeal Madrassa Education Procincialisation Acts and also upheld all other notifications to convert 397 provincialised madrassas to general educational institutions,” tweeted chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who pushed for the legislation as the state education minister in 2020.
Jamiat Ulama’s legal cell convenor Masud Akhtar Zaman said, “Our madrassas do not depend on even a single paisa from the government. Almost all our students are from BPL families and we take care of their food, accommodation and clothes. It is wrong to say that madrassas are only for religious teachings. We have a normal syllabus, same as other schools under the state board. ” Some of the government-funded madrassas are more than 50 years old, set up by Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla, the first PM of Assam under British rule when the Muslim League was in office in the state.
Portraits, photographs
Uttarakhand madrassas refuse to display PM’s picture
Shivani Azad, January 5, 2018: The Times of India
Madrassas in Uttarakhand have refused to follow a state government directive that all educational establishments display a picture of the Prime Minister on their premises. The directive, issued shortly after Independence day last year, asked educational institutions to “take a pledge to ensure building a new India by 2022 in accordance with the vision of PM Modi, and put up a picture of the PM on your premises”.
Subsequently, madrassa office-bearers met and decided, “on religious grounds”, not to comply. Haji Aklakh Ahmad, the deputy registrar of the Uttarakhand Madrassa Education Board, which oversees madrassas in the state, told TOI, “Members of several madrassas said Islam disapproved of putting up any picture inside a madrassa.”
Dehradun district minority welfare officer JS Rawat, when asked about the issue, said that “the order was issued to all government institutions but we cannot force anyone to comply with it if it is against their religion”.
Successful alumni
As in 2019: UPSC, NEET
Ketaki Desai & Deepthi Sanjiv, May 5, 2019: The Times of India
Hafiz to IAS: How madrassa students are cracking civils
Coaching centres are helping Muslim candidates clear competitive exams like UPSC, NEET by bridging the education gap
Shahid Raza Khan was in Class 2 when his cash-strapped parents shifted him from a private school to a village madrassa in Bihar’s Gaya district. This year, the 27-year-old cracked the UPSC exams, securing 751st rank in his third attempt. “My brother, who is now a dentist, encouraged me to think about the civil services when I was 17. I had one general knowledge book at the madrassa, and my classmates would ask me why I was studying beyond my syllabus,” says the PhD student in Delhi’s JNU.
With madrassas focusing on imparting a classic Islamic education, their students are often at a disadvantage when it comes to competitive exams. But now not only have madrassas in several states like UP modernized their curriculum, several non-profit coaching institutes are pitching in to help create tomorrow’s doctors, engineers and civil servants.
Khan, for instance, was coached for the civils at Delhi-based NGO Zakat Foundation of India. Zakat, which provides free and subsidized tuition, coached 18 of the 27 Muslim candidates who cleared civils this year.
In Bidar, Karnataka, the Shaheen Group of Institutions has produced several doctors and engineers through its bridge course for madrassa-educated students in the last two decades.
Traditionally, the majority of madrassa-going children are admitted in the Shoba-e-Hifz (department of Quran memorisation) and thousands become ‘Hafiz’ (one who has memorised the Quran). Shaheen Group’s founder Abdul Qadeer says, “The Huffaz (plural of Hafiz) have every right to gain more knowledge and education after completing their course. In fact, in early and medieval period, Huffaz also served as hakeems or doctors. Shaheen institutions have a course that connects Huffaz with modern education.” Called ‘Hifz Plus’, the foundation and bridge course equips students to enroll in Class 10 of a Shaheen college. Other than Bidar, Shaheen offers this course in Hassan in Karnataka and six other branches across the country.
At 15, Hafiz Waheed Abdullah from Gorakhpur joined Shaheen after he read about the institute in a newspaper. He went on to get 579 marks in NEET and is now studying medicine at Aligarh Muslim University. Another madrassa product, Hafiza Rabia Basreen, studied at Bangalore Medical College and now works as a doctor in Hyderabad.
Syed Zafar Mahmood, founder of the NGO Zakat Foundation, says their coaching centre for the civil services exam takes 65 aspirants every year — five-six of them are madrassa educated. “I see no difference in their abilities and performance and that of students from mainstream institutes. Entry into our institute is gained through an exam, so they are at similar levels,” he says.
Mahmood worked as an officer on the Sachar Committee report, which highlighted the socio-economic and educational backwardness of the Muslim community. Its findings prompted him to start the coaching centre. The lack of Muslim representation in fields like the civil services is a matter of concern, he says. This year, only 3.7% of those who made it were Muslims, he says. “Government data shows that Muslims are lagging behind, and there is only one place where they are larger in percentages — hospital queues. There is a lack of information, confidence and resources, and more affirmative action is needed to bridge the gap.”
One example is the Haj Committee’s IAS and Allied Services Coaching and Guidance cell, started in 2009 at its headquarters, the Haj House in Mumbai. “After the Sachar report, which painted a very grim picture, the Haj Committee of India decided to start two-year residential coaching for Muslim students,” says Mohammed Owais, its CEO. One of their successful students, Shaikh Mohammed Zaib (rank 225) who is from Ahmadnagar and whose father works at the district court says: “This was my fourth attempt and it is the Haj Committee which gave me a good foundation.”
Activist and former member of the Planning Commission Syeda Hameed says, “Madrassa students are very bright, but madrassas have begun to be regarded as breeding grounds for terrorism. This label has gotten stuck to these kids. The state needs to help modernize madrassas, as well as replicate the model of coaching institutes like Zakat on a larger scale.”
Unlike some madrassa students who study maths and science along with religious studies, Khan did not have the advantage of doing a concurrent course in modern subjects. “When I started studying for the civils, I didn’t have that base. I would have trouble understanding class 3 mathematics, so it took me a lot of work to get to the same level as others before I even joined any coaching institute. Even learning English was a challenge, I would have difficulty reading English newspapers.”
But the rigour of the madrassa did help. “Learning the Quran taught me how to memorise and retain information. It also gave me a positive attitude towards life, but there are limitations,” says Khan.
Shahid T Komath of Kozhikode studied in a madrassa for 12 years, and even taught at a couple for two years. “There are gaps in knowledge, but we learn compassion, empathy and hope. I failed my prelims five times consecutively, but I had been taught to be patient, consistent and not be frustrated with failure,” says the 30-year-old, who made it to the information services last year, and hopes to improve his UPSC rank by taking the exam again. His madrassa also encouraged them to join mainstream education simultaneously through open learning programmes. Komath has a BA in English literature.
These success stories are inspiring many others in the community. Khan says his village has only five or six college graduates. “There are very few opportunities available to my community because of financial constraints, especially for women,” he says. “After I’ve cleared the exam, people are filled with renewed hope for their kids’ future. Many madrassa students are contacting me asking for advice. The myth that you can’t even dream of such things has been broken.”
With additional reporting by Mohammed Wajihuddin in Mumbai
Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education Act, 2004
2024: AllahabadHC strikes Act down as “unconstitutional”
Ravi Singh Sisodiya, March 23, 2024: The Times of India
From: Ravi Singh Sisodiya, March 23, 2024: The Times of India
Lucknow: Allahabad high court on Friday struck down as “unconstitutional” the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education Act, 2004, on the ground that it violates principles of secularism with its “scheme and purpose” of “only promoting and providing education of Islam”, and awards degrees in contravention of the UGC Act.
Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Subhash Vidyarthi’s order upholding petitioner Anshuman Singh Rathore’s contention that the Act was “ultra vires” directly impacts 15.8 lakh students in 13,329 recognised madrassas in UP.
The bench directed the BJP-led state govt, which has been trying to integrate science and maths into madrassa education, to accommodate all madrassa students in regular schools affiliated with the primary, high school and intermediate education boards.
“The state govt shall ensure that per requirement, sufficient number of additional seats are created and further, if required, sufficient number of new schools are established. The state govt shall ensure that children aged 6 to 14 years are not left without admission in duly recognised institutions,” the order states. Board chairperson Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said it was difficult to accept that an Act governing madrassa education for 20 years had been suddenly declared unconstitutional. “Obviously, there has been some mistake somewhere. Our lawyers could not present their case properly before the court,” he said.
Details
March 23, 2024: The Times of India
■ What is the UP Board of Madrassa Education Act?
The legislation was enacted in 2004 to streamline madrassa education, defining it as education in Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Islamic studies, Tibb (traditional medicine), philosophy and other specified branches. The board was then reconstituted, comprising a chairperson, director, principal of the state-run Oriental College in Rampur, a legislator each representing the Sunni and Shia sects, an NCERT representative, heads and teachers of Sunni and Shia institutions, and a science or Tibb teacher.
■ What is the board’s mandate?
Grant UG (Kamil) and PG (Fazil) degrees, diplomas (Qari), certificates or other academic distinctions, besides conducting exams of the Munshi and Maulvi (Class X) and Alim (Class XII) courses. The board is also mandated to prescribe courses, textbooks, reference books and other instructional material, if any, for Tahtania, Fauquania, Munshi, Maulavi, Alim, Kamil and Fazil.
■ How has madrassa education changed?
The BJP-led govt has been promoting a curriculum based on NCERT. Till last year, 1,275 madrassas received computers. Book banks were set up in 7,442 institutes, and science and mathematics kits were widely distributed.
■ What was the madrassa system before 2004?
Madrassas have existed in UP for over a century, imparting religious education under the supervision of a board. They were under the state education department until 1995, when the then Congress govt gave the minority welfare department control of all madrassas. In 2004, a law was brought to reconstitute the board.
■ Why did Allahabad HC strike down the Act?
The Act has been declared unconstitutional on two counts—primarily that it violates the principle of secularism, upholding the petitioner’s contention that “the scheme and purpose of the Madrassa Act is only for promoting and providing education in Islam, its prescriptions, instructions and philosophy, and to spread the same”. HC’s ruling also accepts the petitioner’s argument that the board “exercises power” by way of granting degrees, which is UGC’s domain.
■ What does it mean for madrassa education?
The order impacts 15.75 lakh students enrolled in 13,329 registered madrassas in UP. According to the board, 33,689 teachers are associated with madrassas, of which 9,646 are government-funded. The state has 13,239 non-teaching staff in madrassas.
