Comment on the decision to conduct surveys in madrasas by the UP government. What are the challenges faced by these institutions?

Madrasas are religious schools made primarily for the study of religion of Islam. They emerged in India to counter the imposition of Christian values on fellow muslims during British rule.

Legal provisions for Madrasas:

• The constitution under article 25 provides freedom to all the citizens to profess their religion.
• Everyone is allowed to manage their own religious affairs under article 26.
• Article 30 provides the right to minorities to establish and run their educational institutions.

Challenges associated with Madrasas:

• There is an issue with the qualification level of the teaching staff in the madrasas.
• They depend on community funding for their work.
• Lack of technological upgradation.
• Poor infrastructure and lack of basic facilities.

What survey intends to do:

• Recently, the government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to undertake a survey of madrasas; it has raised concerns over the fate of these institutions in saving the muslim identity.
• The government has given the reason to conduct the survey to check the availability of basic facilities available for the students.
• The survey intends to collect information regarding the infrastructure, staff, source of funding and available facilities.

Present status of Madrasas:

• According to the Sachar committee report of 2006, only 3% of the Muslim children of school going age attend mother falls at the national level.
• It has been observed that only poverty stricken parents send their kids to madrasas.
• Muslim parents want modern education for their kids but often fail due to their financial condition and hence enrol them in madarsas.

Way forward:

The government should provide financial aid to the madrasas for their upgradation and modern education should be encouraged along with the religious teachings to ensure that employment opportunities are available to the students of madrasas too.

Topics: GS-I: Social Empowerment Communalism Regionalism Secularism • GS-II: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors