More than 40,000 madrasa students in Uttarakhand will now be part of the mainstream educational system after the recent abolition of Uttarakhand Madarsa Board by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government. Religious education will be allowed after regular classes.
The Minority community students belonging to 452 disbanded madrasas in the state will now join the mainstream education system under Uttarakhand Education Board curriculum soon to be implemented in these institutions. Once their affiliation with the state education board is formalised, certificates of the students graduating from madrasas will now be valid for government jobs.
This will benefit more than 40,000 students enrolled in nearly 452 madrasas registered with Uttarakhand Madarsa Board rendered dysfunctional after formation of Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority (USMEA) recently by Dhami government.
What is notable is that nearly 43,000 students have completed their Islamic education courses, Munshi, Moulvi, Alim (Arabic-Persian), Kamil, and Fazil from madrasas legally operational in the state. However these courses were not recognised by the state education board. Consequently, the madrasa students were not qualified for government jobs.
Efforts of Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board set up in 2016 to obtain the sanctity of its certificates at par with mainstream school education boards were unsuccessful. Mufti Shamoon Qasmi, Chairman Uttarakhand Madrasa Board, stated that want of parity between two boards prevented the students of minority institutions from using their educational certificates for employment. “However, once affiliated to the State Education Board, madarsa certificates will also be qualified for employment in government departments and establishments.
Meanwhile, Parag Madhukar Dhakate, special secretary to state minority welfare department, said that madrasas seeking affiliation with the Uttarakhand Education Board will be required to meet its standards and parameters in all forms. “Madrasa managements claiming to impart primary and secondary level education must satisfy their respective benchmarks and standards as set by the state education board” said Dhakate.
Dhakate informed that madarsa students will have to study mainstream subjects in regular classes as prescribed in the curriculum of Uttarakhand board. They will however be allowed to seek religious education after regular classes are over. According to Dhakate, the content of the religious education will be determined by the USMEA.