UP Madrasa Survey: Board to Restart Recognizing Unregistered Islamic Seminaries

GG News Bureau

Lucknow, 25th Dec. Following receipt of survey reports from private madrasas in the state, the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board chief stated that the process of recognizing unregistered Islamic seminaries would be restarted.

With the permission of the state government, Madrasa Board Chairman Iftikhar Ahmad Javed said that the process of recognizing 8,500 unaffiliated madrasas would be restarted.

“Those who want to get recognition from the Madrasa Board will be able to apply for it,” he said.

Javed stated that getting recognition would benefit both the madrasas and the students because they would receive degrees from the Madrasa Board, which are widely recognized.

According to Diwan Saheb Zaman Khan, general secretary of the Teachers’ Association Madaris Arabiya in Uttar Pradesh, the Madrasa Education Board was dissolved following the formation of the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2017.

For a long time, the committee charged with granting affiliation was not formed.

“This is the reason why the work of giving recognition to new madrasas was stalled. If the board intends to start the process, it would be a welcome step,” Khan said.

A meeting is expected by the end of the month to discuss what other steps the government will take in response to the madrasa survey results

The district magistrates submitted the reports to the government after conducting extensive fieldwork.

Danish Azad Ansari, Minister of State for Minority Welfare, stated that a department meeting will be held by the end of the month to discuss the steps the government will take in response to the madrasa survey.

“Whatever decision is taken will be in the best interest of the madrasas,” he asserted.

It should be noted that the Uttar Pradesh government conducted a survey from September 10 to November 15 to gather information about the basic facilities for students in private madrasas, the courses taught to them, the madrasas’ sources of income, and other basic information.

According to the survey, there are 8,500 unregistered madrasas in Uttar Pradesh.

When asked about the funding of the madrasas, the board chairman stated that all of the establishments included in the survey have declared “zakat” (a payment made under Islamic law for charitable and religious purposes) and donations as their primary source of income.

Concerning the basic facilities and other arrangements in the madrasas, he stated that the survey found most of the arrangements to be satisfactory.

He reiterated that the survey of the madrasas was conducted solely to gather information; the goal was to learn about the state of the basic facilities and, if necessary, make improvements

Javed stated that the process of evaluating the survey results is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, it is being discussed whether an eligibility test should be required for the appointment of teachers in madrasas.

According to Ansari, no proposal for a TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) for madrasas is currently being prepared.

Similarly, given the importance of teaching the NCERT syllabus in madrasas, the minister believes that the same qualification system for teacher recruitment in these institutes as in basic schools is required.

According to the most recent survey data, approximately 25,000 madrasas are in operation in Uttar Pradesh, with only 560 receiving government grants.

Opposition parties had attacked the state government over the madrasa survey, claiming that it was biased against the minority community.

BJP leaders retorted, saying the survey was conducted to broaden the curriculum of madrasas by including computer and science knowledge.