Bhopal: If the numbers are anything to go by, in the past five years not only the number of students studying in Madrasas (schools of Islamic education) have decreased in Madhya Pradesh, but the number of the institute itself is also decreasing rapidly.
Every year, 5 per cent of Madrasas are closing in the state, while enrollment of high school and higher studies students in the Madrasas board has reduced by 10 per cent in the last two years. The state of enrollment in the Madarsas is so bad that this year, only 500 students from the High School and Higher Secondary School appeared from the Madrasa Board.
The statistics indicate that students from Madrasas in the state are either leaving studies or joining other board examinations.
Experts say that the major reason for this is the messy situations in the Madarsas and the lack of help from the government.
Fewer students in Madarsas
In the year 2010, there were 600 madrasas in Bhopal. Today, this number has come down to 127. Of these 127, 4 Madarsas have been closed this year. Similarly, more Madrasas are closing every year along with a rapid fall in students involved in Islamic study.
Two years ago, the number of students appearing for the examination in the Madrasa Board was about 5,000. Now, this number has been reduced to less than 1,000. This figure is quite shocking, although officials reporting to the department say that enrollment has decreased everywhere due to corona.
Corona is a major reason for the decrease in enrollment in Madrasas. The question now arises is that the Corona came in 2020, but the number of students in the institutes has been steadily decreasing for the last 5 years.
Madarsas not getting financial aid from the government
Those who train in Madarsas say that the number of students in Madrasas has decreased, but it is not because children do not want to study or their parents do not want to teach them. The actual reason for this is the lack of resources in Madarsas. They say that all the Madarsas in Bhopal or the whole state do not get any funds from the government.
Earlier, a Madrasa used to get a grant amount of 1 lakh 80 thousand rupees, but later many provisions were made in this amount. Now, only the Madrasas with an enrollment of more than 40 students get the money if at all.
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Opinion of an Education Expert
At the same time, education expert Zafar Alam Khan says that the situation in the Madrasas is quite hopeless today. Madrasas do not get any financial support from the government. This is the reason why teachers who teach in Madarsas do not get much salary. In such a situation, if there are no teachers, how can a school possibly run?
He says that there are many reasons for this. Madrasa board children never get test results like Madhya Pradesh board. Madrasa Board has not had a chairman for the past three years. Nobody is willing to pay any attention to the situation of these schools.
Government's plan to increase the number of students
At the same time, the officials of the department say that the reason for the decrease in the number of students in Madrasa is that children leave high school to start doing labour work. 60 per cent of the children do not take higher secondary examinations after high school. Keeping this in mind, the department is making an effort of employment training for Madrasa students.
Students pointed out deficiencies
At the same time, students studying in the Madrasas say professional courses are not offered and there are no special schemes for the students. If a better scheme is introduced for the children of the Madrasa Board, then more children may come to study in these schools and the number of enrollment will increase.
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