By TCN News,
Aligarh: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is considering introduction of science stream in its curricula for its Bridge Courses for madrasa pass outs for which it held a high-level meeting to discuss key issues related to its implementation.
“Presently, the Bridge Course is being offered in Social Sciences and Arts. The high-level meeting was held to discuss various key issues related to the feasibility of introducing science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics,” a release from the AMU said.
The meeting was held on Saturday wherein it was agreed to form an expert committees to design the subject wise syllabus based on NCERT pattern. The proposed course duration would be of four semester with the first semester focusing on English and basic science.
Dr Rashid Shaz, director, Bridge Course, who chaired the meeting, remarked that despite all the challenges, the previous batch of Bridge Course students has done exceptionally well in Social Science and Arts stream courses.
He said that during the last session several Bridge Course pass outs qualified for mainstream courses under general category including 12 in BA (Hons) English, nine in BA (Hons) Economics and three in LLB, apart from other courses.
Professor Shaz said that following the successful implementation of the Bridge Course for Social Science and Arts, the idea is to introduce foundation courses for science streams as well. “The madrassa graduates, as of now, are not eligible to pursue courses in engineering, medical or pure science subjects. The need for introducing such foundation courses has already been highlighted by Muslim intellectuals, including Syed Ahmad Masood, the great grandson of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who paid a visit to the Bridge Course recently.”
The meeting was attended by senior and retired teachers of AMU including Professor Rashid Hayat Siddiqui, former chairman of Civil Engineering Department; Professor Mubarak Hussain, JNMC; Professor Kalimuddin, Department of Mathematics; Dr Zaki Kirmani, Centre for Studies on Science; Dr Faizan Ahmad, Department of Arabic; Dr A H Saifi, Senior Secondary School; Dr Ahmad Jamal; Mohammad Tariq, STS High School; and other teachers who also expressed their views, the release added.
Dr Kalimuddin suggested formation of core committees for formulating subject wise syllabi. Professor Mubarak pointed out that curricula needed to suit the modern scientific requirements. Dr Zaki Kirmani said that the psychological barriers and the fear of science from the minds of madrassa graduates need to be eliminated.
Raheel Ahmad, an alumnus of AMU, who has been appointed as a consultant to Bridge Course, said that Muslims need to demolish the idea that science and religion are separate. They need to think scientifically and develop themselves with latest technological advancements, the release added.