The process of recognising 8,500 unaffiliated madrasas will be resumed with the state government’s authorization, according to the chairman of the Madrasa Board.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board president has announced that the process of resuming the recognition of unregistered Islamic seminaries will begin after receiving the survey reports of private madrasas in the state. Iftikhar Ahmad Javed, the chairman of the Madrasa Board, told PTI that the state government’s approval will allow the process of recognising 8,500 unaffiliated madrasas to resume.
He remarked, “Those who want to seek for Madrasa Board recognition would be able to do so. Gaining recognition, according to Mr. Javed, would help both the madrasas and the students since they would receive degrees from the Madrasa Board, which are well-respected.
The Madrasa Education Board was disbanded, according to Diwan Saheb Zaman Khan, general secretary of the Teachers’ Association Madaris Arabiya in Uttar Pradesh, following the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power there in 2017. Since that time, a committee charged with affiliating madrasas has not been established for a considerable amount of time.
“This is the cause of why the process of recognising new madrasas was put on hold. It would be a positive step, Mr. Khan added, if the board intended to begin the procedure.
By the end of the month, a meeting to discuss the government’s next course of action in response to the madrasa survey results is anticipated. The districts have delivered their thorough fieldwork reports to the government through the district magistrates.
A department meeting will be conducted by the end of the month to discuss the actions the government would take in response to the survey of the madrasas, according to Danish Azad Ansari, Minister of State for Minority Welfare. No matter what choice is made, it will be
Danish Azad Ansari, the minister of state for minority welfare, announced that the department will convene before the end of the month to discuss the actions the government will take in response to the survey of the madrasas. He proclaimed, “Whatever choice is made will be in the greatest interest of the madrasas.”
It should be mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh government conducted a survey from September 10 to November 15 to gather data on the basic amenities provided for students in private madrasas, the courses they were taught, the sources of income for the madrasas, and other essential details. According to the report, there are 8,500 illegal madrasas operating in Uttar Pradesh.
The board chairman responded that all the institutions included in the study have identified “zakat” (a contribution made in accordance with Islamic law for charitable and religious reasons) and donations as their primary sources of income when asked about how the madrasas are funded.
Speaking of the fundamental amenities and other arrangements in the madrasas, he claimed that the survey discovered that most of the madrasas’ setups were adequate. He reaffirmed that the survey of the madrasas had been carried out solely for informational purposes and that its goal had been to learn about the state of the basic facilities there and, if necessary, make adjustments.
According to Mr. Javed, the evaluation of the post-survey findings is still ongoing. Sources claim that it is also being discussed to need the eligibility test in order to employ teachers at madrasas. Ansari claims that no proposal for a TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) for madrasas is currently being prepared.
Similarly, the minister stated that it is thought that madrasas should have the same certification criteria for teacher recruitment as basic schools due to the requirement that the NCERT curriculum be taught there. Only 560 of the 25,000 madrasas operating in Uttar Pradesh receive funding from the government, according to the most recent survey’s statistics.
The state government was criticised by opposition parties for the survey of the madrasas, which they claimed was biassed against the minority group. In response, BJP officials said that the poll was carried out to help madrasas broaden their curricula by integrating knowledge of science and computers.