Interview: Wali Rahmani on madrasa modernization
Submitted by Anonymous on 20 November 2008 - 9:03pm
Maulana Wali Rahmani is the Chairman of Madrasa Modernisation Committee set up by the Ministry of HRD. This interview was conducted by Anjum Usmani in Urdu. Translated in English by Tarique Anwar of TwoCircles.net
Q: Being the Chairman of Madrasa Modernisation Committee of Government of India what is your opinion on management of madrasas and its curriculum?
A: Each madrasa should become a registered organization or unregistered madrasas should become affiliated with a registered institution. As I see things developing in future, this is essential.
Q: What do you mean when you say madrasas should become registered organization?
A: According to me registered organization means that the constitution of madrasa should be registered under the Trust Act, name and address of members should be clear and election of its members should also be transparent. There should be a constitution and guiding principles. There should be a regular audit of accounts by a chartered accountant.
Maulana Wali Rahmani is sajjada nasheen of Khanqah Rahmania, Munger
Q: Will it not be justified that madrasas got recognized by Madrasa Board?
A: The experience of Madrasa Boards has been a bitter one. Madrasa Board was established under an act in our state Bihar and is well managed officially and legally but in thirty years the education in the madrasa running under the board has remained only in name. These institutions have been reduced to just becoming centres for passing the examination. There are many other problems that I don't want to go into.
It is said that Madrasa Board is an independent and autonomous organization but when the government will constitute it and its officers will be government servant then the board will be as autonomous as it is in Bihar. I am giving you two examples of Bihar then the matter will be clearer. If there is any controversy on the decision of Chairman of the board then the person/s concerned can appeal to the government against this decision. In Bihar the Deputy Director takes up matters like this and gives his decision. Which kind of self governance is it!
To bring revolutionary change in madrasas under the Board, the then Chief Minister formed a syllabus committee which had eleven members. There was not a single aalim (religious scholar) among them and five of them were such who had didn't even have knowledge of Urdu, let alone Arabic. I opposed and cried on this matter. Some ulema were invited as special guests in few of these meetings. These English knowing people have framed the syllabus for madrasas which is the syllabus in Board affiliated madrasas with some changes.
Q: Then how will you do modernization of madrasas?
A: Modernisation means to take steps towards excellence. To create excellence in a law college would not mean that the students of law got sit in chemistry laboratory. It will not be excellence for medical students to include history in their syllabus. In the same way it is also not excellence for madrasa students that they get education of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Madrasas are basically for religious education. If its students are skilled in religious education then it will be excellence for them.
It should also be remembered that madrasas in India are established under article 13, 14, 29 and 30 (fundamental rights) of Indian constitution and also from this point of view they should not be interfered with. Efforts should be made to improve madrasa education and its pass outs should be provided opportunities that after graduation or within their course if they want further education other than religious education then there are mechanism to do that.
Q: Is there any initiative in this field?
A: Several universities have opened their door to madrasa graduates. We are doing our best in this regard but as you know in rusted locks even the right key takes time to work.
One good initiative is that a long bilateral talk between Madrasa Modernisation Committee and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has resulted in a policy by NIOS that the student of any reputed madrasa can get enrolled in class 10th in NIOS and can take the examination. Such students will have to pass in five papers in which two will be language papers. The language papers will include 12 regional languages other than Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Hindi and English. Rest three papers will be opted from History, Geography, Physiology, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics etc. The students can take examination of one or two papers after each six months or all five at the same time. There will be given five tries to clear each paper. If student want he can keep a trade recognized by NIOS as a paper. For instance with History, Political Science he can keep any one among these trades -Computer Application, typing (Urdu/Hindi/English), Carpentry, Solar Energy, Technician, Laundry Service, Welding Technology, Bakery, Biogas etc. as a subject. In this way a student can pass class 10th before completion of madrasa education and if he wants he can also do Senior Secondary (+2) during madrasa education.
I think that a wide scope in future is being provided with the collaboration of NIOS and doors of the universities are opening for ulemas. Adopting this system madrasa student can choose his field of interest.
Q: What are the languages that NIOS is publishing its text books?
A: Books up to class 10th are printed in several languages including Urdu. Therefore, there is a proper arrangement so that madrasa students do not face any problem.
Books of Senior Secondary classes are being publishied in Urdu and are hoped that they will reach in different parts of the country by the end of this month. Madrasa authorities and students are requested to take advantage of this new opportunity.
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MODERNIZATION OF MADRASA
Assalamo Alaikum
Thank you for putting interview of Maulana Wali Rahmani on twocircles.net.After reading of interview of mr Chairman,there are many questions that come in mind and want to put before him and all those persons who are very much concerned to develop madrasa as centre of learning.
1.what sort of needed structure that one madrasa should have to be registered?As we see that around 60 madrasa are unorganised and worked on small level.Do not you think that this is a step to limit the growth of madrasa and the education reach for masses?
2.How a registered madrasa curriculam will be accepted by the different maslaki schools?How you will sort out this problem?
3 Is tthis not a deliberate step by the muslims to hand over the controll of madrasa to the goverment in the name of registered institution if it decide to follow goverment guidelines?.
4 What the role the people of madrasa want to see of Goverment?
5 Are you going to accept the financial help from the goverment to bring madrasa ubder the controll of public dominance ?on what condition the madrasa will accept the role of goverment and what will be relation of goverment and madrasa?
6.What will be the provision for those madrasa which are not ready to be registered?
7.What is gaurantee that madarsa will not also be in line of schools of Goverment.?
Inspite of all thesee this is exllent effort.but we have to take very much care in term of registration.The term modernization should be applied on methodology,and course content but not much on structure that break the backbone of madrasa in term of freedom.There should be more integration of madrasa and technical education .The scientific temperament should be encouraged to produce a class of religiouss scholars who are well versed in tackling of contemporary problems of religion and society.who led a new path of ijtehad in Islam.for this the need of time is also to take help from English speaking.In present time english speaking producing more scholarly works on Islam that our ulema .so this is not dictinction that curriculam should be prepared by other.To make it more worthy of follow call a conference of all the head of leading madarsa different maslak.talked about the modernization,formulate policy and chalked out paln.you also take help from all those people who have expertise in madrsa education and other education system.In modernization of madrsa the guiding principleshould be 'let noble thought comes from every direction.'
Madarasa modernisation,,World's First university was a Madrasa.
It is a progressive way forward for the development of madrasas...I strongly beiieve that students of madrasas should be encouraged and made compulsory to do the conventional education parallely,.One would agree with me, As more than 1500 Quranic Ayats talks about science and established scientific facts,An Alim if he is should be able to understand and explain to the common men with the evidence from modern science,unfortunately that is not the case often..
We has a community have created an environment that madrasa education is only to the dumbest individual of the society.Parents who happens to have an intelligent son/daughter doesn't want their children to pursue madrasa education but rather happy to send their dumb/unstudious children to madrasas .This attitude and perception has to change NOW!
This attitude is mainly due to the reason that education catered in madrasas are for the life hereafter and the conventional education required to make their livelihood is ignored and thereby we also see the young alims entering to the traditional ways of making their source of living by prescribing amulets,encouraging darga worships and no wonder we hear some silly/insane fatwas passed by some obscure alim,moulavi time to time which puts the whole community in shame....Integrating modern education with QURAN AND SUNNAH IS THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE BETTERMENT OF NOT ONLY MUSLIMS BUT ALSO TO THE NATION.It's worth mentioning the worlds first degree granting university,University of Al-Karaouine,Morocco was formed from medieval madrasas in 859 A.D,by a woman called Fatima Al fihri...
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