Madarsas Enter Modern Times with Massive Overhaul

By K R Rajeev

May 23, 2012

Waking up early to attend the madarsa classes have always been a dull regimen for the 10-year-old Nazeem PV. But not anymore. For him the ho-hum religious classes at Hayathul Islam Madrassa attached to the Mohiyuddin Mosque in the city, which he attends before going to an English-medium school, now has loads of attractions. He can paint lessons on computer, engage in science experiments, and read in leisure sitting in a well-stocked library.

A hi-tech makeover is sweeping across the 14,000-odd religious teaching centres attached to mosques in the state thanks to the Centre-sponsored madarsa modernization scheme. Over Rs 23 crore have been disbursed to 547 madrasas in 2011-12 that helped the 'Oothupallis' which were limited to rote teaching of Holy Quran to adopt modern pedagogical ways of teaching science and mathematics and offer computer classes. Some even teach students English and Hindi.

Buoyed by the success of the programme, over 6,000 Islamic religious centres have applied for funds under the scheme this year for upgradation.

So far over 1,000 madrassas have benefited from the scheme with each of them getting funds in the range of Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. The government gives Rs 1 lakh for installing computers, Rs 50,000 to set up library, and Rs 15,000 to buy science kits. It also pays Rs 6,000 as salary for graduate teachers appointed by the religious schools and Rs 12,000 for postgraduate teachers. The classes offered during weekends supplement regular school-goers from Class 1 to 12.

"The madrassas in the state are witnessing a silent revolution which has transformed the roles of these religious education centres. It has become centres of learning, both spiritual and temporal," said Nadukkandi Aboobakkar, state convener of the Minority Education Association, an umbrella organization that coordinates the educational initiatives of various Muslim organizations in the state.

The overhaul of madrasas has helped it easily contain the student drop-out rate. But more importantly it has ushered in a social change in the community. About 75% of the teachers imparting lessons in newly introduced subjects such as computer science, social studies, science, mathematics, and Hindi are women. According to Minority Education Council officials, women make up for the majority of teachers even in the madrassas run by the Sunni sections, which forbids the entry of women to mosques.

Saleena NK, a computer science instructor at a madarsa in the city, said the computer classes here are a big hit among the children as most of them do not have computers at home. "Apart from the fundamentals of computers we teach MS Word, Excel and DTP. Lessons in CorelDraw and Photoshop is also imparted," she said.

Zubair Nellikkamparambu, a teacher at the Darul Huda madarsa at Nellikkamparambu, said parents of many students, including women who had to drop out of schools due to various reasons, have started attending the classes at the madrassas.

"We are planning to tie up with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) so that those who could not complete their school education could appear for exams and get certificates," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Madrassas-enter-modern-times-with-massive-overhaul/articleshow/13402823.cms

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-culture/madarsas-enter-modern-times-with/d/7496