Question : Education in Madarsas

(a) whether only religious books are taught in Madarsas in the country and if so, the details
thereof;
(b) whether the teaching of only religious books in all madarsas of the country is likely to deprive of
the children from coming into the main stream and from getting different government jobs and if so,
whether the Government proposes to make all the subjects mandatory in all Madarsas on the line of
government schools;
(c) whether the State Government of Maharashtra has separated Madarsa schools from school
category and if so, the reasons therefor; and
(d) whether any other State Government is likely to take such decisions and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

(a) & (b) : The Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEM) of the Ministry of Human
Resource Development aims to encourage traditional institutions like Madarsas and Maktqabs by providing
financial assistance to introduce subjects like science, mathematics, social studies, Hindi and English in their
curriculum through support for teachers, books, teaching learning materials and computer labs. The
Scheme aims to provide to the Madarsa students, education comparable with national standards. The
Scheme is a voluntary one and Madarsas have the choice to opt for the Scheme.
( c): The State Government of Maharashtra has reported that as per the Right to Free and
Complusory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 every child of the age 6-14 should be enrolled in a school and that a
school must give education to students according to the syllabus prepared by the Academic Authority
declared by the Government. The State Government has also stated that education in any school which is
not teaching as per the curriculum prepared by the Academic Authority of the State (i.e. Maharashtra State
Council for Educational Research & Training, Pune) is considered as informal education, therefore children
enrolled in those schools are treated as Out of School Children in the survey conducted for out of school
children in Maharashtra.
(d): No such information is available in the Ministry in this regard.
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