Kapil Sibal to discuss madrassa board with Muslim MPs

Human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal is going to hold talks with Muslim MPs on Saturday to evolve a consensus for establishing an All-India Madrassa Board and teaching modern subjects to students in madrassas and maktabs.

The Centre feels this will help bring madrassa-going students into the mainstream and allow them to pursue higher education and improve their employment prospects. MHRD has linked madrassa modernisation with lucrative incentives under which madrassas that teach modern subjects and get themselves affiliated with CBSE or state boards will get funding and teaching material.

On this, Sibal is likely to get the support of all 32 Muslim MPs. “I fully support this. What’s wrong if madrassas get money from the government to buy computers and pay salaries to teachers of modern subjects like English. I do not see any interference in religious teaching,” said Syed Shahnawaz Hussian, the BJP member in Lok Sabha.

The Centre will bear the education costs of children who opt for modern subjects in madrassas. They will be evaluated through the National Institute of Open Schooling ( NIOS ) in classes 5, 8, 10 and 12.