By Mahua Venkatesh

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS): Ashera Bibi, a native of West Bengal, has moved out of the state in search of livelihood. But her three children continue to live in a small village in Nadia district in Bengal. She is adamant not to relocate them.

"My children attend school where they are learning how to read the Quran. It is essential to learn the Quran and I will not be able to devote time here to teach them the tenets of the holy book because of my work schedule," the proud mother said.

Bibi's children go to a nearby madrassa. The 35 year-old said she is not willing to put them in a 'mainstream' regular school. Reason? Regular schools will not focus on the basics of Islam and Quran.

This reflects the deep-seated mindset of a sizeable section of the Muslim community, especially the poorer ones, living in the hinterland of West Bengal and other parts of the country.

According to various estimates, there are over 55,000 madrassas peppered across the country, of which more than 10,000 are in West Bengal. The madrassas essentially teach the tenets of Islam and the Quran, besides the Hadith or the Prophetic traditions. Urdu and Arabic are also regularly taught at these institutions.

Though many of these also teach other regular subjects such as science and mathematics, they don't follow any standard curriculum. The basis of these parallel education institutions continues to be the focus on Islam, which severely limits job prospects of the students.

While a number of madrassas are now recognized by their respective state boards, concerns remain as most of them follow teaching techniques which date back to the 18th or the 19th century. The madrassas continue to run on an ad-hoc basis without any standard curriculum.

According to several reports, the overt emphasis on Islam and its unique interpretation have also led to radicalization of students in many cases.

"After passing out from madrassas, it is not easy to get integrated into the mainstream mode of learning as there is no uniform pattern of teaching or syllabus. We have not had students passing out from madrassas applying to pursue higher education in our college," the principal of a well-known college in Delhi said on condition of anonymity.

The principal added that the madrassa learning can exist as parallel form of education but not as core, as it is for lakhs of Muslim children.

In 2020, about 70,000 students appeared for the school leaving examination from various madrassas spread across West Bengal. Many madrassas in the state are affiliated to the West Bengal Madrasah Board but their primary focus is Islam.

According to Muslim Mirror, an independent online news platform, "For the students who would like to join mainstream learning, it becomes a daunting task of rapidly learning all the non-taught subjects and preparing for the Xth Board exam. Most students fail this exam and those who pass, find it extremely hard to pursue higher studies."

However, a few Muslim majority universities, including Aligarh Muslim University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University and Jamia Millia University, do allow students passing out from madrassas to join them but the numbers are restricted.

Need to reform and modernise madrassas

"It is important to reform the education process at madrassas and we have been focusing on this aspect. The students must integrate with the mainstream education process. They need to aspire to become engineers and doctors and not Maulvis and Imams," Mohd Mazahir Khan of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch told IndiaNarrative.com.

"The issue of madrassa reform has crucial implications for Muslim education in India, the nature of Muslim leadership, and for community agendas. Because of the links, in terms of shared traditions that some of the leading Indian madrassas have with madrassas elsewhere - particularly in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal - and the influence that Indian ulema have, since the last century, had on Muslims in other countries, reforms in the Indian madrassa system have a broader relevance than in the Indian Muslim community alone," noted Yoginder Sinkand, writer and academician, in one of his published papers.

Last year, the NDA government - along with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, one of the most influential religious bodies in India - underlined the need to chalk out a roadmap to introduce modern education in the madrassas. This is not the first time that the Centre has attempted to modernise the madrassas.

In 2009, Congress leader and former human resources development minister Kapil Sibal had proposed the Madrassa Board Bill, an initiative to modernise the education techniques and curriculum to ensure inclusiveness and excellence. The aim was also to recognize the madrassa degree and bring it on par with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

"The objective is to ensure that when the Muslim youth go out of schools, they get job opportunities. We will ensure that they have skills and they are equipped with the kind of education that enables them to be part of the mainstream," he had then said.

But the efforts did not pay off. Sibal faced opposition from several quarters.

Rise in number of non-Muslim children at madrassas

Madrassas are open to non-Muslim students too. A fair number of students going to madrassas comprises non-Muslims. Reasons are many. First, these madrassas provide free education and food. Many of them even offer lodging facilities. "So a number of children facing abject poverty land up going to madrassas so that they can learn something while getting free food," an observer said.

Second, lack of regular schools at many remote districts has also forced children of other communities to go to madrassas. However, an observer also noted that many madrassas are open to having non-Muslim students, as this is one of the simple ways of promoting their religion and expanding its reach.

"Madrassas haven't changed for the last 70 years, it is time to reform and modernize madrassas and regular subjects such as science, mathematics, and computer science must be taught to ensure that the students passing out from here can easily integrate with the national mainstream and face up to the world," Maulana Suhaib Qasmi, national president, Jamat-e-Ulema Hind, said.

RSS' education arm in mainstream

The RSS runs Vidya Bharati, a network of schools and institutions. While these schools, over 15,000, aim to promote a strong sense of nationalism among the students, they are affiliated to either the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or state education boards.

Besides, most teachers are recruited as per the standard eligibility. Since these schools follow the mainstream curriculum, the students do not find it difficult to integrate with the higher education system.

Students are also given a fair idea of Hinduism but the curriculum and teaching are not religion-focused. The picture is the same with the Christian missionary schools in India.

These schools too have opened their doors to students of other faiths.

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the need for these schools to adopt technology and strive to reach the top of the pyramid. Several students hailing from these schools have topped their board exams.

"They easily integrate into the mainstream education system, as these schools too follow a pattern which is similar to other education institutions, the focus is not excessively on religion," an analyst said.

It is important to ensure that students attending madrassas follow a standard curriculum so that job opportunities open up for them as well. Only a fraction of the students attending madrassas are able to find regular jobs and integrate into the mainstream socio-economic system.

The Centre, which has initiated steps to modernise the madrassas, must remain firm even if there are voices of dissent.