Karnataka School Education and Literacy Minister B C Nagesh on Wednesday said the government is obtaining a report regarding the nature of education at madrasas in the state. Nagesh had held a review meeting regarding the formal education given to students, who go to madrasas.
After getting religious education at madrasas, the minister stated that there is a rule according to which students have to attend nearby schools to gain a formal education in science and mathematics.
However, there is no clear and accurate information regarding students getting formal education, he added.
Denying the claims that formal education is not being provided in Madrasas, City Jamia Masjid Imam, Maulana Maqsood Imran Rashadi told The Cognate, “In our Madrasas, we already teach English, Mathematics and Science. But we teach it through Urdu medium. Similar to how, in the Kannada medium, students are taught mathematics and science in Kannada but English is taught only as a language and not a medium. We do the same thing here by teaching English only as a language and the rest of the subjects are taught in Urdu medium. Therefore, if they do not consider our teachings in Urdu then it is very wrong.”
BC Nagesh said a first meeting was held on Wednesday to examine the education system in the madrasas.
“In this backdrop, keeping in mind the future of the students studying at madrasas there is a need to know about the nature of education at madrasas,” Nagesh was quoted as saying, PTI reported.
The minister said the department has received complaints regarding madrasas not cooperating when officials visit for inspections and so the officials have been asked to visit certain madrasas and submit a report after inspecting them.
“After obtaining information regarding the situation on the ground, a meeting will be held with education experts and those running madrasas…On the whole, the intention of the government is that every child has to get quality education,” Nagesh added.
Meanwhile, the Ulamas have claimed that the government did not consult them before taking these steps nor did they receive any formal letter from the authorities seeking to obtain a report on the nature of education in the Madrasas.
“The government did not consult any Madrasa for obtaining a report. There is a procedure to be followed when they want to consult Madrasas by sending a letter which states that they want to visit our institution. They can write a letter that they want to understand what we teach at our institution. Even if they want to inspect a school the same procedure follows. The government sends a letter saying that they are visiting the school on so and so date and records must be kept ready for inspection. But such kind of letter has not been issued to any Madrasas. They have only said this through the media. It isn’t the right way,” Maulana Imran told The Cognate.
He also noted that in 2010, the central ministry separated religious institutions, saying religious education can be taught at institutions. “A letter has also been issued in this context. We have the full right to give religious education along with formal education.”
Commending the model of education at government schools in Delhi, the Chief Imam of Jamia Masjid said, “We have one of the finest models of education in government schools in Delhi. Here the condition of government schools is very bad. So, if our state government does something like that then it is very good. It is the responsibility of the education minister to make such fine models of education for all government schools across Karnataka.”
“We have all the documents of what we are teaching and what not. Through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), we have made our students appear for SSLC exams too. Last time, 24 kids got out of our batch, and all of them are Hafiz. Even this time 43 Hafiz students will sit for SSLC exams from our Madrasa. Like this, children from other Madrasas are also appearing for SSLC exams. We can also talk to the government and make a board for Madrasa students,” Maulana Imran Maqsood said.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
