Madrasa survey only to allow holistic welfare policy: UP Minister

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Danish Azad Ansari said that the government’s objective for conducting a survey of unrecognized madrasas is to facilitate in the development of a holistic welfare policy for all students.

“It is up to madrasas whether they want to benefit from the government’s welfare scheme or not. There is no compulsion for them to get recognized by the state madrasas board of education. The survey will help the government to find the exact number of students so that we can prepare a holistic policy for their welfare,” he said.

There are currently 20 lakh students in 16,513 recognized madrasas in Uttar Pradesh and roughly more than 15 lakh in 7,500 additional unrecognized madrasas.

“We just cannot ignore the students of unrecognized madrasas when the government is preparing welfare policy for them. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure all Muslim children are given an opportunity to grow.

“They have all rights to study Islam and religious text, but with changing times they also need to be taught computer, science and other subjects. Their personality development and exposure to new world challenges is part of the government’s goal,” the Minister added.