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Sanskrit to be taught in madrasas in Uttarakhand, says Waqf Board chairman
Shadab Shams said they will implement the NCERT curriculum in 117 madrasas under their plan to “modernise” madrasas where students can have quality education, including science, mathematics, Arabic and Sanskrit
Sanskrit will be taught compulsorily in madrasas that come under its jurisdiction, Uttarakhand Waqf Board chairman Shadab Shams has said.
Shams said they will implement the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) curriculum in 117 madrasas under their plan to “modernise” madrasas where students can have quality education, including science, mathematics, Arabic and Sanskrit.
He said that the board will also appoint teachers for both Sanskrit and Arabic. “We should love our culture and traditions and respect it. We will appoint teachers for both Sanskrit and Arabic at madrasas so that they can learn our culture. It would be compulsory for madrasa students to study Sanskrit,” he said.
Shams said that the state chief minister has assured them that the government will provide any and every help needed to educate the children.
“Mainly, children belonging to poor backgrounds, and orphans go to madrasas. They are traditionally taught just Arabic and the Quran. If children from such backgrounds are given a chance, they can do wonders and become engineers, scientists and doctors. Our former President APJ Abdul Kalam is the perfect example,” Shams said.
He added, “Once the teaching of the Quran and the Hadees ends in madrasas, from 8.30am onwards, the classes based on modern education would take place till 2 pm.”
The Waqf board chairman said their overall planning for the modernisation of madrasas includes the upgradation of the infrastructure, like the introduction of study benches, and uniforms.
After the first phase of this exercise is completed, more districts will be taken up in the second phase of the modernisation programme, Shams further said.
In November last year, Shams announced that all madrasas under the Waqf Board would have a uniform dress code
“In the first phase, we will make four model madrasas where coaching for competitive examinations would be given and its online stream through links would be ensured,” he added.
Rajendra Kumar, director of Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board, said he has no knowledge about this initiative. “I would not like to comment on this at this juncture as I have no knowledge of it at present,” he said
Kumar said there are over 419 madrasas affiliated with the board. According to some former senior officials of Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board, there are around 800 to 1,000 madrasas in the state, of which over 400 are affiliated with the Madrasa Education Board.
Uttarakhand has a 13.9% Muslim population according to the 2011 census, mostly in the Terai area. Haridwar and Uddham Singh Nagar districts have over 34% and 22% Muslim population, respectively.
In June this year, former chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Trivendra Singh Rawat while expressing concern over minority youths getting involved in “love jihad”, had asked Muslim clerics and scholars to give moral value-based education to students at madrasas so that they don’t get diverted into such anti-religious and immoral acts.
In October last year, a social welfare minister had asked madrasas which hadn’t sought recognition, to get recognition from the education department.
In September last year, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the state government would conduct a survey of the madrasas in the state.
Dhami had said, “All kinds of things coming to the fore about madrasas from various parts of the state. So, a survey of the madrasas in the state is important. It will make the present status of the madrasas in the state”, he had said.
