UP govt's agenda is not to change form of madrasa education but to make it better: Minister

Amid allegation that an attempt is being made to destroy the basic form of education in madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, Minister of State for Minority Welfare Danish Ansari said on Sunday the government's agenda is not to change the form of education but to make it better.

The Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board has decided that Urdu, Arabic, Persian and 'Diniyat' (religious teaching) will be taught as one subject instead of separate texts, a move criticised by a teachers' association.

Asked about apprehensions that the basic form of madrasa education is being changed, Ansari told PTI, "The government is not going to take any such step. We are moving in the direction of making madrasa education better for students."

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"The things that are good will be implemented. Whatever good input madrasa board gets, it is put forward. Some things are still in the stage of deliberation, so they should not be considered final. Whatever final decision will be taken, it will be for the benefit of the common people," he said.

There will be no disruption in the old system and the attempt is to include more good practices, he said.

The Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Shiksha Parishad, in its meeting on March 24, had decided that in the secondary (Munshi/Maulvi) classes, only one subject would be made including Arabic and Persian literatures as well as 'Diniyat'.

Question papers for the rest of the subjects -- Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science -- will be separate.

The Teachers Association Madarise Arabiya Uttar Pradesh said the decision was against the provisions of the Education Code and the Madrasa Board Act of 2004. The basic form of madrasa education would be destroyed if the decision is implemented, it said.

The association has written to the Principal Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department, demanding withdrawal of the board's proposals.

The minister said the government is moving ahead with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's thought that Muslims should have "Quran in one hand and laptop on the other."

"We are serious about madrasa education and moving ahead for its betterment," he added.

There are a total of 16,461 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, out of which 560 get government grants. There are 32,827 teachers in these madrasas.

Referring to major programmes of the Minorities Welfare Department for the next 100 days, Ansari said, “We are developing a mobile application of madrasa curriculum for convenience of students."

The government is also taking steps to develop basic infrastructure in the areas with a sizeable minority population, he added.

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