Hired to modernise madrasas, later rendered destitute, 21,000 UP teachers cling to new hope

Teachers like Muslim, who is a resident of Ghazipur, taught subjects such as Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences to about 10 lakh students at 7,442 madrasas across the state as part of the modernisation scheme, which was envisaged as a bridge between mainstream and religious education in madrasas.

Ashraf Ali, who is the president of the body representing these teachers, the Madrasa Adhunikaran Shikshak Ekta Samiti, says a government initiative like this would benefit not only the educators but also students. Ali points out that after the scheme was brought in, students from madrasas could transition more easily into mainstream education. “Earlier, they would find it difficult to secure admission in other schools.”

Teachers say that, while not much, the salaries had been a support. Even when they stopped, many continued their work in madrasas, hoping their dues would be cleared soon. Alongside, many took up odd jobs – such as vending, tailoring, driving rickshaws, and farming – to support their families.

Muslim says he used to teach 53 students English, Hindi and Social Sciences from 8 am to 1 pm, at Madrasa Quadria Gulshan in Ghazipur, and sell fruits later in the day. Now, the latter is his only means of making a living. “It has been difficult to provide for my family, my wife and four daughters. My wife took up tailoring work… Today, despite holding a postgraduate degree, a Bachelors in Elementary Education, and a Basic Training Certificate, I sell fruits by the roadside.”

Ansari told The Indian Express the government is exploring ways to accommodate those who earlier worked as modern teachers and that the Director and Principal Secretary of the Minority Affairs Department have been instructed to formulate a policy for their adjustment. The officials, Ansari said, are currently working on the proposal and efforts are underway to arrive at “a workable solution”.

The Madrasa Modernisation Scheme was conceived in 1993-94 by the P V Narasimha Rao-led government at the Centre, and in 2008 renamed as the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas. Not limited to Muslim teachers alone, it provided for appointment of up to three “modern teachers” in madrasas.

The Centre and states were to pay the salaries of these teachers in the ratio of 60:40 under the scheme, with teachers who were graduates entitled to Rs 6,000 per month and those with postgraduate degrees Rs 12,000. However, salaries under the scheme remained irregular throughout.  In 2016, the then Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh increased the honorarium to the two categories of teachers by Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000, respectively.

In April 2021, the scheme was shifted from the Union Ministry of Education to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. And soon after, it was discontinued. Says Ashraf: “In 2020-21, the government paid modern teachers salaries for 10 months. This reignited hopes, but then the wages stopped.” In 2024, the UP government stopped the payment of honorariums as well.

Shakir Ali and his wife are among the “modern teachers” who have continued to turn up to hold classes, with several madrasa committees retaining such educators on a small pay.

Ali, a postgraduate who teaches English and Mathematics at Madrasa Jamia Abul Ghaus in the Mohammadpur locality of Ghazipur, earlier drove a rented e-rickshaw, and now takes private tuitions. His wife, a graduate, is employed at the same madrasa, which has about 300 students. It has three “modern teachers”, besides nine for religious education.

Laiqa Fatima, a resident of Meerapur village in Azamgarh, also continues to teach at a madrasa for a modest pay. The management and students requested her to stay on, she says. Madrasa Neyaz Jafari in Dewait village where she works has 138 children, and three “modern teachers”.

A postgraduate in sociology, Laiqa says she joined in 2016. Her husband Naseem Haider had lost his job at the time. Haider later found work as a private taxi driver, and for a while the family thought they had turned a corner. “But after our salaries stopped, we slipped back into financial hardship,” Laiqa says. So she began stitching clothes after school hours to support the family.

One of her colleagues is Meraj Fatima, a postgraduate in political science. Meraj says: “My husband worked as a chauffeur in Saudi Arabia but could not send money home regularly. A few months after Laiqa joined, I too took up a position at the same madrasa.”

That proved invaluable when her husband returned to India around four years ago. When he opened a bag shop, they were “stable” for a while, she says – till the Madrasa Modernisation Scheme was halted.

The madrasa’s manager Niyaz Haider says they can pay Laiqa and Meraj very little, given their limited resources. Hoping that the Adityanath government will rehabilitate teachers such as her, Meraj says: “I hope it will not only ease our financial burden but also of many others in similar circumstances.”