Madrassas in Maharashtra were never considered as schools: Minister defends govt move

After reports that the Maharashtra government had termed madrassas as ’non schools’ and children going to them as ‘out of school students’ created a stir, state minister for minorities development department Dilip Kamble has defended the government saying madrassas in the state were never considered schools. DNA quoted the minister as saying_, “Madrasas were never a school in Maharashtra in the sense of modern education. Children going to madrasas were neither considered going to school before this government, nor are they considered now. They were always children out of school. We have just started a survey of children in the age group of six to 14 years who are out of school and they too figure in it.”_ [caption id=“attachment_2325278” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Meanwhile, on Thursday the Central leadership had blamed the previous government in the state on the issue. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday blamed the previous Congress led-government for bringing the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which does not consider madrassas as educational institutions. Asserting that madrassas have done a lot of good work in the country and it was important that these are treated as educational institutions, he said his ministry will look into a possibility of including these Islamic-learning centres in the mainstream educational system under RTE. Despite Naqvi’s comments amid much outrage, Kamble said, “Children who go to madrasas can continue to go for their religious education. Our survey is for those who do not go to school.” Kamble’s comments come after the Maharashtra government asserted that madrassas not teaching subjects like Maths, English and Science would be considered as non-schools. The move raised the hackles of Muslim leaders as well as the opposition parties in the state. “Madrasas are giving students education on religion and not giving them formal education. Our Constitution says every child has the right to take formal education, which madrasas do not provide,” State Minorities Affairs Minister Eknath Khadse had told PTI, defending the move. Asaduddin Owaisi, who is the President of AIMIM, questioned the rationale behind the government decision, and asked whether students being imparted Vedic studies will also be considered out-of-school children. “There are many Madrasas that are teaching Maths, English and Science. Many Madarasa students have gone ahead and cracked civil service exam”, he said. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani said that whatever happened is “unacceptable”. Calling the move unconstitutional, Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam said, “No child should be discriminated along religious lines. We are going to take the issue in the state Assembly.” With PTI inputs