Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Council Chairman, Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, has penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the renewal of the Madrasa Modernisation Scheme. This plea comes in the wake of the Yogi Adityanath-led government’s directive to halt the payment of additional state contributions under the scheme. Javed emphasized the significance of the scheme in connecting lakhs of madrasa students to mainstream education and society, particularly those from backward classes.

The Madrasa Modernisation Scheme, initiated in 1995 in Uttar Pradesh, has been instrumental in integrating students into the educational mainstream. Javed highlighted that, under the scheme, 60% of the budget is contributed by the Centre, while the state government contributes the remaining 40%. Unfortunately, the Centre has not fulfilled its share for nearly six years, leading to the state government withholding its contributions. The recent order on January 5 further suspended the additional state share for teachers’ honorarium.

Javed pointed out that the closure of the additional state share has left 21,216 teachers, imparting modern subjects in 7,442 madrasas, unemployed. Expressing concern about the loss of employment for these teachers, he appealed to the Prime Minister to renew the scheme not only in Uttar Pradesh but throughout the country. Javed’s vision is to make the slogan “Quran in one hand and computer in the other” a success for Muslim students.

In response to the situation, Minister of State for Minority Welfare, Danish Azad Ansari, assured that the pending state share from the previous year until now would be paid. He clarified that the state share had not been disbursed since May last year, and the government is committed to rectifying this by settling the dues. The renewal of the Madrasa Modernisation Scheme remains a crucial aspect of ensuring continued educational support for students in madrasas.

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