NEW DELHI: The Centre has announced scholarships for five crore students from minority communities in the next five years. Minister for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is targeting to provide scholarships to one crore students from the minority communities annually. The ministry is also stepping up work on narrowing the gap between mainstream school education and the madrasa school system, he said.

Naqvi said girls who have dropped out of madrasas and mainstream schools will be linked to education and employment by providing them "bridge courses" from reputed educational institutions of the country.

"Madrassa teachers from across the country will be given training from various institutions in mainstream subjects such as Hindi, English, Maths, Science, Computer etc. so that they can impart mainstream education to the students in madrasas too. This programme will be launched next month," Naqvi added.

In keeping with the key indicators set out in the Niti Aayog strategy paper where the government's vision for India at 75 years in 2022 was laid out, the ministry has set its focus on socio-economic-educational empowerment of minorities, especially girls.

The target also includes the plan to identify 10 lakh recipients for the Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls Scholarship from the economically weaker sections among minorities over the next five years.

Though Sachar Committee said only 4% of Muslim children attend madrassas, these students are critical because they grow up to become maulvis, preachers and imams at mosques. If these students are enabled to clear the 10th and 12th board exams, they can join the mainstream education and qualify for jobs in open market.

The Centre's plans evoked mixed reactions from across states. In Mumbai, madrassas, Muslim intellectuals and commentators welcomed Naqvi's statement on training programmes for madrasas. Darul Uloom Deoband vice-chancellor Abul Qasim Nomani said, "We welcome this decision and look forward to being the beneficiaries of this scheme. It has to be seen how effectively it is implemented on the ground."

All India Muslim Personal Law Board secretary and spokesperson, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said, "Good steps by government...the process of applying for these scholarships should be made easy."

"There is no problem in accepting the government's assistance to teach Science, Maths, English and other modern subjects provided the government doesn't meddle in the basic curriculum of the madrassas. We don't want the madrassas to lose their basic character of imparting Quran and other Islamic subjects in the name of modernisation," said Mufti Abdul Batin Noamani, Shahar-e-Qazi or chief mufti of Benares who also teaches at Jamia Mazharul Uloom, a 125-year-old madrassa in Benares.

Many doubted the government's "sincerity" to modernise the madrassas. Delhi minority commission chairman Dr Zafrul Islam Khan, who was part of a high-level panel which evaluated the madrassa modernisation plan three years ago, said that the government must show seriousness in upgrading the madrassa education. About the 5 crore scholarships announced for minority students, Khan said that, due to lack of awareness among Muslim students, a huge chunk of these scholarships get cornered by other minorities.

Senior Urdu commentator Hasan Kamal, while welcoming the move, said that the Modi government could win the trust of the madrassas and the Muslim masses at large provided it "walked the talk." In UP, opposition parties questioned the intent of Modi government. "Scholarships are welcome but what is interesting is that when we did the same, it was labelled as appeasement," said UP Congress vice-president, Omkar Nath Singh.

Samajwadi Party termed the scholarship announcement as a politically motivated step that exposes BJP's double standards on minority welfare.

(With inputs from Mohammed Wajihuddin in Mumbai)



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