The Uttar Pradesh government is likely to hold a meeting on the madrasa survey in two or three weeks, to discuss ways to improve the educational environment in the religious schools, and provide students access to modern study tools.
“The survey has found that 8,496 madrasas are unrecognised. In the coming weeks we will hold a meeting to discuss various points of the survey and key takeaways. We will use this to improve the condition of students accessing education in these institutions,” Danish Azad Ansari, Junior Minister for Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj, told The Hindu.
The U.P. government also said it is not considering any madrasa as illegal or fake. “The Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education [UPBME] is not considering any madrasa as illegal or fake, because we have not given recognition to any such institution in the last seven years. I have been a student of statistics. Plans are made based on surveys, while action is taken based on investigation. We have received data from the survey of madrassas, with the help of which we will develop a Muslim child on the lines of Quran on one hand and computer on the other. It is the dream of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, chairman, UPBME.
Also read: Opinion | The politics of the madrasa survey
Mr. Javed alleged that only a few people who were misleading the masses have been disappointed with the survey. “Due to the successful completion of the survey, the government has been able to win everyone’s trust. A few who were misleading the people have been disappointed as backward Muslims are coming into the mainstream,” he added.
The U.P. government’s madrasa survey which drew criticism from various quarters has concluded with reports from all the 75 districts received by the government. The survey which started in September sparked a lot of debate in India’s most populous State with many Muslim organisations and all the major Opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alleging that the ruling dispensation is “terrorising the Muslim community with such acts” and “indulging in a malicious move” to disparage the Madrasa system.
The State had maintained that the survey aimed at gathering details of teachers and students, curriculum, and affiliation of unrecognised madrasas with non-government organisations, etc. It also wanted to check whether basic facilities are being provided to students in these institutions. The government had further said that it wants to connect students studying in madrasas with the modern education system and government welfare schemes.
