No intention of disturbing madrassa course structure: UP govt

The Uttar Pradesh government today sought to allay fears that introduction of NCERT books in madrassas in the state will disturb the course structure of the Islamic educational institutions.

At the same time, the government maintained that "dakiyanusi" (conservative) education system cannot ensure "progress of an individual, a state or the country".

"The Uttar Pradesh government has no intention of disturbing the course structure of the madrassas or change them. But, the fact remains that 'dakiyaanusi' education system cannot ensure progress of an individual, a state or the country," Minority Welfare Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary told PTI here.

In the age of technology, no engineer, doctor, scientist or civil servant has come from madrassas, he said.

"We want employment-oriented education and technical education to be imparted in the madrassas across the state," he said.

At present, syllabus of madrassas does not have adequate content of history and culture, he said, adding, "We are planning to introduce history, geography and Sanskrit as additional subjects. This will be implemented from the next academic session."

There are 19,000 recognised madrassas in the state.

The minister said, "The books will be of NCERT and UP Board as well. However, this is still in planning stage. The books are in Urdu, some of which will are already available in the market. The basic aim is an attempt to integrate madrassa education with the mainstream education system."

On October 30, the Yogi Adityanath government decided to introduce NCERT books in madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, apart from making mathematics and science compulsory at intermediate levels in these schools.

The steps are intended to make madrassa students more competitive by providing them contemporary and quality education, according to Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma.

"The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to introduce National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books in the madrassas in order to make students studying there to come on a par with children of other schools," Sharma recently said.

Of the 19,000 recognised madrassas in the state, 4,600 are partially-funded, while the number of 100 per cent funded madrassas in the state is 560.

The Uttar Pradesh government had on August 18 launched a website related to madrassas and orders were issued to upload all relevant information pertaining to the managing committee of the institutions, teachers, students and other information by September 15.

It then extended by 15 days the deadline till September 30, as there were some technical issues.

The September 30 deadline was then extended by 15 days so that all the madrassas in the state can register themselves on the government website.

So far out of the 19,000 madrassas, as many as 16,686 madrassas have furnished all the relevant details, Chaudhary said.