In CM’s 10,000 madrasahs plan,4,000 ‘missing’

The government does not even know the total number of unrecognised madrasahs in the state.

“The number of government-recognised and aided madrasahs in the state is 611. I don’t have the number of unregistered madrasahs at the moment. But we are getting applications from unregistered madrasahs for recognition. Since there is no last date for applying,people are not in a hurry,” said Arafan Ali Biswas,director (madrasah).

Sources said that the total number of Madrasah Shiksha Kendras and Shishu Shiksha Kendras is only around 6,000 and that officials would have a lot of trouble meeting the target. Khalil Ahmed,special secretary in charge,minority department,said,“There is no figure available as to the number of unrecognised madrasahs in the state,” he said.

Certain institutions that do not fulfil the criteria for madrasahs have applied for recognition as well. However,their inclusion would further complicate the situation.

“If they are looking at Quranic madrasahs to fill the gap of 4,000,there would be a serious technical problem because these do not follow the prescribed syllabus,” said a senior official of the minority and madrasah education department.

“We are getting applications and our team will inspect the madrasah before it is given recognition. It is a time-consuming process but we do not want to deprive any institution. Neither do we want to give recognition to an institution that does not meet the norms,” said Biswas.