Government plan for madrasas over the Budget allocation of the central government to modernise the madrasas has raised apprehensions in Darul Uloom Deoband and asked to shed light on the road- map of the plan.
According to Ashraf Usmani, PR Officer of Darul Uloom, “The intention of the government is not clear. The government must define its concept of modernisation.
Mere introduction of English education and computers doesn’t mean modernisation. We also believe that modernisation and introduction of job oriented courses are two different thinks.”
“We had introduced an educational policy in Darul Uloom in 1886. Now the entire world is following our curriculum.
But the government must remember that the madrasas are run by the religious community.
The institute takes shape as per the wish of the community. We want our students to be peace loving and educated. We also want to generate interest in them for theology. Maybe the NDA government allocated ` 100 crore for madrasas’ modernisation, we have every right to know the plan of the government in this direction,” Usmani said.
Usmani also mentioned that while the UPA government had allocated Rs.550 crore for madrasas, the NDA has given only Rs.100 crore, which shows its seriousness not worth mentioning about the problems faced by the students and teachers there.
“We welcome the government’s decision to earmark fund for modernisation of madrasa, but there is no question of bringing any change in the syllabus of theological education. The government is not yet clear about its plan.” He said the government should also clarify whether it has modernisation plan for all the madrasas or only for the aided institutes, said Khalid Rashid Firangimehli, a member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.