Madarsas in Uttarakhand will now follow the state education board curriculum and syllabus. These madarsas will teach all subjects, including sciences and maths, to the students studying there after obtaining state education board’s recognition. Sanskrit will be an optional subject

The State Waqf Board has made it mandatory for all its madarsas to get affiliation from the Uttarakhand State Education Board as early as possible and follow the syllabus prescribed by it. According to Uttarakhand Waqf Board Chairman Shadab Shams, the board has issued an order in this regard to all madrasa heads to start taking necessary steps for getting state education board affiliation as soon as possible.

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Shams said once the state education board affiliation to madarsas is done, children studying there will not be taught Tahatania (Madarsa mode of primary education) and Fauqania (Madarsa mode of middle school education). Besides these, Munshi and Maulvis will not be appointed as teachers in these madarsas. For now, Uttarakhand Board’s syllabus will be implemented in 117 madrasas, which are presently run by the state Waqf Board, and other privately owned minority institutions will be covered under the plan later.

Nonstop actions have been taken against illegal madarsas across the state for nearly two months on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. So far, 171 illegal madrasas have been sealed, while more than this number are still working in different parts of the state.

“Uttarakhand Waqf Board has decided that madrasas run by it will follow the state education board syllabus and curriculum in the coming days. The Waqf Board will follow a mainstream syllabus incorporating other subjects like Urdu, Hindi, English, Science, Mathematics, Social Science, History, Geography, and others. These subjects are followed in the government schools of Uttarakhand Board. Sanskrit will be an optional subject at madarsas,” said Shams, adding, “an order has been issued directing Madrasa heads to get affiliation of the state education board as soon as possible.”

State Waqf Board CEO SS Usman said that the order was given to the madarsa heads, administrators, mutavalli and management committees to obtain recognition from the Uttarakhand Education Board. According to Usman, madarsa administrators and managements have been asked to coordinate with the offices of the respective Chief Education Officers in their respective districts for obtaining Uttarakhand Education Board affiliation.

Shams informed that the Waqf Board will assist the respective madarsas if they face difficulties in obtaining the state board’s affiliation and ask for the same in black and white. However, if madrasa managements fail to follow the order, action will be taken against them. The Waqf Board has also written to the director, School Education Uttarakhand to instruct all CEOs to help madarsas get the board’s recognition at the earliest possible time.

“These madrasas run by the Waqf Board will be developed as model minority education institutions in the coming days. It’s a well-thought plan that was decided one and a half years back. We had already announced to convert madarsas into model education centers, and it’s being implemented now,” said the Uttarakhand Waqf Board Chairman.