Low funding hurting education, allege Bengal minority groups

The Left Front may be screaming for more funding to the education sector from the central government, but in West Bengal, thousands of schools and their students are suffering from an acute lack of funds.

More than 4 lakh students study in 508 government-recognised and part-funded madrasas, but as many as 15,000 primary schools (called makhtabs) and another 400 unrecognised schools (or khariji madrasas) are languishing for lack of funds and are running totally on donations from religious charities, according to sources in the Imams Council.

Dr Abdur Sattar, president of the Madrasa Education Council, told Business Standard, "Our education standards are at par with the best in the country as the government spends Rs 125 crore on development like installation of computers in 44 madrasas. The certification from the Madrasa Education Board is valid all across India so the students have an option of continuing in their chosen stream post 10+2 anywhere in the state or the country."

The 'khariji' institutions which serve lakhs of students said exactly the opposite.

Students were being forced to migrate from West Bengal because the state did not have universities like Osmania, Jamia Millia and Aligarh where students could pursue higher education, they complained.

Most 'madrasahs' in Bengal have less than 700 students and pay very poorly, with primary teachers often getting only Rs 500 per month.

The government-aided schools received 10 times the amount, a representative of the 'khariji madrasahs' claimed.

There were virtually no female teachers or seats for girl students and the absence of exclusive schools for girls compounded the problem, he added.

The recognised madrasas claimed they had successfully combined theological education with modern subjects.

The 'khariji' school representatives said they could not afford to do so as the government largesse only went to a few schools.

They also alleged that other states not under Left rule have been more successful in providing opportunities to students from economically backward sections through vocational courses.

The Left has not done anything in this regard.

They complained that the Left had not drafted guidelines for recognition to 'madrasa' schools or constituted boards to help draft a modern curriculum.

The Imams Council announced at the seminar that a modern Islamic Centre is going would be set up in Bengal to remove misconceptions and present the true picture of Islam in a globalised world.

Some of these issues were highlighted at a recent seminar organised by the US Office of Public Affairs, the sources said.