A team of the district administration on Thursday surveyed the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, a Lucknow-based Islamic seminary, days after the Uttar Pradesh government ordered a survey of “unrecognised” madrasas across the state. The team comprising the District Minority Welfare Officer, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and the Basic Shiksha Adhikari collected information from the seminary authorities on 11 different points during their stay on th campus for one-and-a-half hours. The 11 points include the source of income of the madarsa, safety and sustainability of infrastructure, number of students, teachers, proper drinking water facilities, furniture, electricity, adequate number of toilets and the curriculum being taught there. A similar survey will also be conducted at the Darul Uloom Deoband, a prominent Islamic seminary in Saharanpur district, as part of the same exercise launched by the government. At the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, the survey team was informed by the seminary's functionaries that it has 2,410 students and 81 teachers. Also, it has a library with more than 2.5 lakh books, it was informed. Besides, the officials were told that some of courses being run there were recognised by the madarsa boards of Bihar and West Bengal and a university in Lucknow. “The seminary has good infrastructure. We inspected the whole campus. We do not have to check the parameters. We will simply collect the information and submit it to the government,” said District Minority Welfare Officer Sone Kumar. Kumar said the team went for a survey and collect data as the seminary does not have recognition from the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Shiksha Board. “We have the list of recognised madarsas only. Information on unrecognised madarsa is being collected. Survey will be done if we get information about any unrecognised madarsa ,” he said. Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox On the likelihood of a survey at Darul Uloom Deoband, Saharanpur District Minority Welfare Officer Bharat Gaur said, “Survey will be done as it is not recognised. A report on this will be submitted by October 5. Survey is being conducted in other tehsils of the district.” The state government’s decision to survey unrecognised madrasas has received pushback from Muslim organisations like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind besides criticism from Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi. The Congress has called for a survey on RSS-run 'Shishu Mandirs' and montessori schools. There are an estimated 17,000 recognised madarsas in UP.
