Status of Education in Muslim Schools in Mumbai 10 December 2012 to 9 January 2013

Transcription

1 CENTRE FOR STUDY OF SOCIETY AND SECULARISM Report - Internship Programme Status of Education in Muslim Schools in Mumbai 10 December 2012 to 9 January 2013 Supported by Heinrich Boll Foundation, Germany CENTRE FOR STUDY OF SOCIETY AND SECULARISM 602 & 603, New Silver Star, 6 th Floor, Behind BEST Bus Depot, Santacruz (E), Mumbai: Ph , Fax csss@mtnl.net.in Website: 1 P a g e

2 Acknowledgements We, the following members of the team of Internees, would like to thank the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism for giving us the opportunity to make this internship a fruitful experience. Many thanks to Dr. (Mrs.) Vasundhara Mohan, Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Mr. Feroze Ashraf, Dr. (Mrs.) Ranu Jain and Mr. Salam Bin Rasaq without whose guidance, this work wouldn t have been possible. Finally, we thank the Management and Principals of the schools which we visited, for their understanding and cooperation. Team 1. Mr. Rhythm Sanjay Buaria 2. Mr. Chirag Mukesh Shah 3. Mr. Yash Atul Rajyaguru 4. Mr. Nishaan Uday Shetty 5. Ms. Meenakshi Gopalakrishnan 6. Ms. Nikita Ajay Shah 7. Ms. Ridhi Ajay Parekh 8. Ms. Akshaya.P. Thotan 9. Ms. Shanti Sawant 10. Ms. Shilpi Dubey 2 P a g e

3 CONTENTS Chapter Title Page 1. Introduction 4 2. The Sachar Committee Report Situation in some of the Muslim Schools in Mumbai Conclusion 21 Annexure-1 Summary of Observations 24 Annexure-2 List of schools visited 35 3 P a g e

4 1. INTRODUCTION Education in ancient India was imparted orally by sages and scholars. Later, writing developed on palm leaves and barks of trees. Temples and community centres took up the role of schools and gradually the system of Gurukuls developed. The Gurukuls, which were traditional Hindu residential schools, imparted knowledge of religion, scriptures, philosophy, literature, warfare, statecraft, medicine, astrology, history and mathematics. However, the Gurukuls entertained students belonging to Brahmin and Kshatriya communities. During the medieval period, Universities were set up under Buddhism and Jainism for imparting higher education at Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain and Vikramshila. Before the onset of the Mughal dynasty, Indian education system was confined only to small groups of people; mainly the ruling elite and the Brahmin class. Private individuals set up educational institutions for the spread of education in a limited section of the society, where no government, either Hindu or Muslim, considered it to be its duty to promote education of the general public. The advent of the Mughal Empire in 1526 had a drastic impact on education in India. The Mughal sultanate has been an imperial power in the Indian subcontinent from 1526 to From Babur to Bahadur Shah II the Mughal sultanate introduced vast changes which were beneficial to the subjects in their territories. The Mughals established primary and secondary schools and cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Varanasi developed into University centres. There was an excellent 4 P a g e

5 rapport between Indian and Islamic traditions in several fields of knowledge like theology, religion, philosophy, fine arts, architecture, astronomy and medicine. Muslim rulers promoted education by setting up libraries and promoting literary societies. They founded maktabs (primary schools) in which students learned reading and writing and basic Islamic prayers. Madrasas taught advanced language skills to prepare the students for civil service and judiciary. In medieval India the Islamic schools were under the control of Ulama, who followed a set curriculum. Muslim girls from affluent families studies at home. Persian being the court language, boys from the elite class attended Persian schools to study literature, history, ethics, law and administration. In due course, Madrasas developed into centers of higher learning. This period saw vast improvements as the Emperors opened many madrasas, leading to great accomplishments in the field of education. Despite these amenities, these facilities were availed only by the ruling class and the elite of the society. Under the reign of Emperors Akbar and Shah Jahan Madrasas witnessed a remarkable development. Together, they introduced new subjects such as Indian philosophy, ethics, arithmetic, domestic or home science, agriculture, mensuration, the study of government, physiognomy, astronomy, geometry and other physical sciences. The study of Sanskrit and Sanskrit literature was also introduced. Hindu and Muslim children were taught together. In promoting education, the Mughals drew inspiration from Prophet Mohammad s famous command seek knowledge even if it is available in a distant country like China. The wide network of maktabs and madrasas were basically supported by the community, without any interference from the Government in power. These institutions imparted free education to all and even provided free hostels for indigent students. The decline of the Mughal Empire 5 P a g e

6 and the advent of British rule revolutionized western education in India, affecting the working and curriculum of the madrasas and Muslim education. Education in India gained a totally new concept with the advent of the British rule. In the Charter of 1833, English was declared the official language in India. The introduction of English education in India provided opportunity even for women and people belonging to the lower classes to get educated. A number of Universities were established in cities like Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta etc., besides English-medium schools by Missionaries. Opportunities for women s education grew and a number of women s colleges were established. Muslims and Education The purpose of education is, besides knowledge, to acquire academic and professional skills that enable one to access a respectable job and comfortable living. For a Muslim, providing economic prosperity of a nation does not contradict his/her Islamic beliefs, although focusing the goals of education solely for the purpose of money making is unpalatable. A majority of Muslims think that Islamic education i.e., acquiring Islamic religious knowledge-study of Qur'an, Arabic, Hadith, Sunnah, Seerah, Fiqh, Islamic history, and allied subjects, is enough. The aims and objectives of Islamic education were defined in the Recommendation of the Committee of the First World Conference on Muslim Education held in Makkah in 1977 as: Education should aim at the balanced growth of the total personality of man through training of the human spirit, intellect, rational-self, feelings and senses. The training imparted to a Muslim must be such that faith is infused into the whole of his/her personality and creates in him/her an emotional attachment to Islam and enables him to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah and be governed by Islamic system of values willingly and joyfully so that he/she may proceed to the realization of his/her status as Khalifatullah to whom God has promised the authority of the universe. In spite of the report pointing out that religion is not the chief impediment, the views of parents and the influence of traditionalist Ulema especially on Muslim girls education (at least those belonging to poor families) cannot be brushed aside. Muslims feel that acquiring degrees in secular education does not guarantee jobs and do not wish to educate their girls beyond a certain level (primary or at the most secondary/higher secondary level) in their anxiety to prevent their girls going astray or from being influenced by the secular atmosphere. Scholars have extensively mentioned the role of some Muslim women in spreading Islamic knowledge to the world. But, the ignorance of some people 6 P a g e

7 about the stand of Islam on women s education and the socio-cultural traditions of some Muslim communities has been largely responsible for the unjustified restriction of women to education. The Prophet, without mincing words, clearly stated that seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim male and female. Yet, Muslims (of the past or in some countries even now) have looked upon female education with contempt; as a subject that does not deserve discussion at any length. Citing the example of the traditional Ulama in Nigeria, Adebayo writes: Such reasons include indiscriminate mixing of boys and girls at school, school uniforms which expose mature girls heads, bosom and leg bare, coupled with scanty, smart revealing sport wears and the behavioural patterns of many products of western education schools and life style after graduation, among other. While the community could always control the dress, social behaviour and other traits of girls, the latter cannot be denied the right to knowledge and contemporary education on this score alone. Educational Status of Muslims in India: Post-Independence The spread of modern education among Indian Muslims in the pre-independence period had improved their social position, leading to the gradual emergence of an educated middle class. The educated Muslim elite were able to narrow down the gap in the educational achievements between Hindus and Muslims as India approached independence. The improved educational situation of Muslims in most of the regions in India took an about turn due to partition of the country and the migration of a major portion of the educated middle class to Pakistan. A majority of the Muslims who chose to stay back in India were either unlettered or uneducated or did not have the opportunity and initiative and stimulation for modern education. Migration of a large section of the educated middle class of Muslims to Pakistan brought down the proportion of educated Muslims in 7 P a g e

8 independent India and this again widened the gap between the two major communities of the country in so far as their educational as well as economic status was concerned. For some decades no special arrangements were made by any successive governments to encourage the Muslims for education. Everything was left to a routine arrangement for education made for all sections of the society thus making the unequal to compete equally for the educational and economic opportunities. As a result Muslim masses failed to compete and take advantage of the opportunities and remained backward in education with only some improvements taking place on the initiative of the community itself and that too on a varied scale in different regions of the country. Government Initiatives It was only after more than three decades of independence that the Government of India realised the need for finding out the educational status of Muslims and other weaker sections and social groups. A special committee appointed under the Chairmanship of Gopal Singh (1980) reported that educationally Muslims were the most backward community in the population. The Report compelled the government to formulate programmes to pull the Muslim community out of the deep quagmire of educational backwardness into which it had sunk. The National Policy on Education 1986 incorporated specific programmes for the educational upliftment of the minorities and other educationally backward groups. Though the policy provisions were meant for the educationally backward minorities only, i.e. Muslims and neo- Buddhists, in many places the benefits were utilized by other minority groups also who were not backward in education. Following India's independence, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are provided reservations in many of India's educational programmes and institutions. The remote and far-flung regions of North East India are provided for under the Non-lapsable Central pool of Resources (NLCPR) since P a g e

9 Women from remote, underdeveloped areas or from weaker social groups in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, fall under the Mahila Samakhya Scheme, initiated in India's minorities, especially the ones considered 'educationally backward' by the government, are provided for in the 1992 amendment of the Indian National Policy on Education (NPE). The government initiated the Scheme of Area Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities and Scheme of Financial Assistance or Modernisation of Madrasa Education as part of its revised Programme of Action (1992). Both these schemes were started nationwide by In 2004 the Parliament passed Act enabling minority education establishments seek university affiliations if they met the required norms. Surprisingly, it is only in the case of Sindhis that the government has not made any significant efforts to promote Sindhi language. There are no Sindhi schools or schools with Sindhi language as an optional paper in most of the States. Most of the Sindhi associations fear that due to apathy of Indian Government, Sindhi language and culture will only be a story for the future generations. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO), India has the lowest public expenditure on higher education per student in the world. While we do not wish to go into the details of budget allocations on education by the government of India, suffice it to say that even during the Financial Year , the budget allocation for the flagship program 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan' was considered very low. In recent times, several major announcements were made for improving the poor state of affairs in the education sector in India, which include progressively increasing expenditure on education to around 6 percent of GDP, ensure that no one is denied of education due to economic backwardness and poverty, make the right to education a 9 P a g e

10 fundamental right for all children in the age group 6 14 years, and universalize education through Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid-Day Meal programme. However, not much progress has been seen on the education front. Due to a declining priority of education in the public policy paradigm in India, there has been an exponential growth in the private expenditure on education also. Legislative Provisions Article 45, of the Constitution of India originally stated: The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years. This article was a directive principle of state policy within India, effectively meaning that it was within a set of rules that were meant to be followed in spirit and the government could not be held to court if the actual letter was not followed. However, the enforcement of this directive principle became a matter of debate since this principle held obvious emotive and practical value, and was legally the only directive principle within the Indian constitution to have a time limit. Following initiatives by the Supreme Court of India during the 1990s, the Ninetythird amendment bill suggested three separate amendments to the Indian Constitution: A new article (21A), which read: The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. 10 P a g e

11 Article 45 was proposed to be substituted by the article which read: The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of sixteen years. Article 51A, was to additionally have the clause stating that:...a parent or guardian [shall] provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, [a] ward between the ages of six to fourteen years. The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha on November 28, 2001 and later by the Rajya Sabha on May 14, Since then those between the ages of 6 14 have a fundamental right to education. Additionally, Article 46 of the Constitution of India holds that: The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation'. Other provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be found in Articles 330, 332, 335, Both the 5th and the 6th Schedules of the Constitution also make special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 11 P a g e

12 2. The Sachar Committee Report The Government of India constituted a High-level Committee headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court for preparation of a Report on the Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community of India, and to suggest various welfare measures for Minorities including Reservation. Among the various observations made the Sachar Committee, the following relate to the educational aspects of the community: Muslims did not see education as necessarily translating into formal employment. The low representation of Muslims in public or private sector employment and the perception of discrimination in securing salaries jobs make them attach less importance to formal secular education in comparison to other SRCs; There were very few schools beyond the primary-level are in Muslim localities and schools exclusively for girls were still fewer; The communal content of school textbooks, as well as the school ethos has been a major cause for concern for Muslims in some States; Many a time Madrasas are the only educational option available to Muslim children, and very often children go to the Madrasas not out of choice but due to non-availability and inaccessibility of other schools, and a near absence of education in their mother tongue; While there is a general acceptance of an urgent need for the modernization of Madrasas, the modernization scheme of the government have not really provided much relief to the community as far as quality education is concerned; The identification of Urdu as a language of Muslims and its development is relegated to the background. Urdu medium schools are in a dismal state; 12 P a g e

13 The resistance to recognize Minority Education Institutions by State Governments (which is a clear violation of Art.30 of the Constitution) has been a matter of serious concern with the Community in several States. Perceptions of public security prevent parents from sending daughters to schools located at a distance where they would have to use public transport. The Committee s findings were based on the following data: The literacy rate among Muslims (59.1%) in 2001 was far below the National average (65.1%) and other SRCs (70.8%). The literacy gap between Muslims and the general average is greater in urban areas and for women. Owing to their Socio-Economic backwardness, Muslims have not been able to respond to the challenge of improving their educational status unlike the other communities. The increase in enrolment in Schools has been highest among SCs and STs (95%) followed by Muslims (65%); Muslims have the highest dropout rate in the country. 25% of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out; Muslim participation in the schools under the Jawahar Navoday Vidyalayas scheme in rural areas too is unsatisfactory; The disparity in Graduation level education attainment rates is widening since 1970 s between Muslims and all other categories in both urban and rural areas and for both genders; Only one out of the 25 Under-Graduate students and one out of the 50 Post-Graduate student is a Muslim in premier colleges. The share of Muslims in all courses is low, particularly at the PG level and marginal in the science stream; Only 3% of Muslim children in the school going age go to Madrasas; In many States, there is dearth of facilities for teaching Urdu; 13 P a g e

14 Recommendations In view the above observations, the Sachar Committee made the following recommendations with regard to the educational aspects of the Muslim community: A national data bank be created where all relevant data for various SRCs are maintained, computerized and made available on the internet; An autonomous assessment and monitoring authority is needed to evaluate the extent of development benefits which accrue to different SRCs through various programmes; Need of legal provisions to eliminate discrimination against the community; Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted; The content of the school text books needs to be evaluated to purge them of explicit and implicit content that may impart inappropriate social values, especially religious intolerance; The University Grants Commission should be encouraged to evolve a system where part of allocation to colleges and universities is linked to the diversity in the student population. Even private colleges, including those run by the minorities and which have affiliation with universities or are recognized by state bodies can be provided additional funds if they have a diverse student population and charge reasonable fees; Alternate admission criteria need to be evolved to facilitate admissions to the most backward amongst all the SRCs in the regular universities and autonomous colleges; Hostel facilities at reasonable cost be provided for students from minorities. While this is required for all minority students, such facilities for girls in cities of all sizes are particularly desirable; Teacher training should compulsorily deal with the importance of diversity / plurality within the country and sensitize teachers towards the needs and aspiration of Muslims and other marginalized communities; 14 P a g e

15 With a view to providing primary education in a child s mother tongue, the State should run Urdu medium schools, and provide a regular stream of Urdu teachers; Madrasas could be linked with a higher secondary school board to enable students to shift to a regular / mainstream education after having passing from a Madrasa; Degrees from Madrasas should be recognised for eligibility in competitive examinations. In pursuance of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, the Government of India has come with a new 15-Point Programme, under which a variety of benefits (both financial and technical) are extended to recognised minorities. The status of implementation of the 15-point programme differs from State to State, in spite of the fact that a major portion of the required funds is provide by the Government of India. It is also a fact that the extent of utilization of the benefits arising out of the 15- point programme by the Muslim community, especially, has differed from State to State. While some feel that there may be strings attached, others are either ignorant of the various schemes or are unable to avail the benefits on the plea that the formalities to be observed are too many. 15 P a g e

16 3. SITUATION IN SOME MUSLIM SCHOOLS IN MUMBAI As regular students studying a set curriculum, we had no knowledge of either the educational backwardness of the Muslim community or the problems associated with educating Muslim children by ambitious parents. Although we had heard of the Sachar Committee Report, we were not aware of the contents. We had taken it for granted that the reason why Muslim boys do not evince interest in education is because they follow their fathers vocation or business after a brief stint in schools and Muslim girls are pulled out of schools after certain age, to get married and settle down in domestic life. Dr. (Mrs.) Vasundhara Mohan, Executive Director of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism realised that it was essential for us to correctly understand the problems associated with educating Muslim children so that we look at the problem in the right perspective. She, therefore, asked us to undertake this project and get to know of the factual situation by visiting various Muslim schools in Mumbai. We were asked to interact with social activists working in the field of education of Muslim children, meet the Management, Principals/ Headmasters and students of the schools and elicit their views. 16 P a g e

17 With the above mandate and in the above background, we met three Scholars viz., Mr. Firoz Ashraf, Mr. Salam Bin Razak and Miss Ranu Jain for giving us an insight into the problems associated with education of Muslim children in Mumbai. They are involved in educating Muslim children in the city of Mumbai in official and voluntary capacities. In a candid chat with us, the scholars expressed their opinion based on their own experiences. A detailed summary of the observations made by us during our visits to the Muslim schools is given in Annexure-1. A list of schools visited by us appears at Annexure-2. The following is a summary of the observations made by us and are based on the perspectives of the scholars and also our own understanding of issues involved with regard to educating Muslim children, problems faced by the Muslim community and problems faced by Muslim children in getting educated. 1) Poverty: Poverty is one of the main reasons for the backwardness of Muslim community in acquiring education. Due to financial difficulties many parents cannot afford even the basic necessities and thus they find it difficult to send their children to reputed schools. Schools that provide quality education and/or modern amenities charge heavy fees which most Muslim parents cannot afford, especially if more than one child is to be educated. 2) Early Marriage: Early marriage forms a major setback in acquiring education by Muslim girls. Muslims girls are married off at the age of which hampers their higher secondary education. Marriage puts an end to their further education. This phenomenon adversely affects the boy-girl literacy ratio 17 P a g e

18 and also the overall literacy ratio. Early marriage also hampers the importance of female education and women empowerment within the community. 3) Lack of quality schools in Muslim dominated areas: A lot of people of the Muslim community in Mumbai are slum-dwellers and the schools established in the slums have poor infrastructure, insufficiently qualified teaching staff and meager financial support. This leads to poor quality of education, lack of motivation and lack of exposure. During the course of our interaction we found that one of the reasons for the poor quality of teaching is because of the prevalence of corruption in placement procedure of teachers in the Municipal schools; some of them happen to be under-qualified for the post. For obvious reasons, we are unable to come up with supporting data on this aspect. Secular education is not given much importance. In the Municipal and government schools the sanitary conditions are pathetic and do not meet the required standards. Cash-crunch makes such schools fail to provide modern educational tools thus affecting the quality and standard of education imparted. 4) Neglect of Family Planning : The economically backward sections of the community having large families have no option but send their children to work and supplement the family income. If larger families are due to non-adoption of family planning measures, economic backwardness abetted by many mouths to be fed, makes the families ignore or fail to realise the importance of education. The mindset of this particular section is more hands feed more mouths. 18 P a g e

19 5) Lack of awareness about Prime Minister s 15 Point Programme and difficulties in Availing its Benefits: A number of students (including schools) did not have adequate knowledge of the benefits available to the minorities under the Prime Minister s new 15-Point Programme. Those who were aware of it complained that they could not avail the benefits due to tedious and complicated formalities. 6) Lack of infrastructural facilities in Schools: The infrastructural facilities in many of the schools are not satisfactory. Generally the schools that are established in slum areas have congested buildings and small classrooms. The amenities provided are not up to the mark. Some of the schools do not have proper library, science laboratory and computer laboratory. 7) Lack of Social initiative: There is a lack of social initiative within the community. The middle class is indifferent towards the lower strata of the community. 8) Indifference of parents Parents seem to think that their responsibility ends with enrolling their children in a school. They do not seem to bother to follow the progress of their wards. Hence, the participation of parents in PTA meetings is poor. One of the reasons for this could be the illiteracy of the parents and/or lack of time if they are engaged in small-time businesses. At the conclusion of our study, we find that there is a lot of work to be done; by the community itself, the government, schools and society, to raise the educational standards of Muslim children, even in a megacity like Mumbai. We come to the following conclusions: Muslim parents have realised the importance of secular education if their children were to come up in life. As a result, the enrolment rates of Muslim children are increasing; While the community wants its children to learn about Islam, neither the parents nor the children are fanatic about it. Realizing the need for 19 P a g e

20 religious educations, most schools visited by us conduct at least one period of religious education per day; Poverty is one major stumbling block if the parents are unable to admit their children in better schools. It is also one of the reasons as to why the boys are withdrawn from the schools; Parents should take more keener interest in the educational progress of their wards by regularly attending PTA meetings; We did not see any discrimination or antipathy towards Muslim students in schools where the student community has religious diversity; Muslim parents have to realise the value and importance of educating their girls also, so that they can stand on their own legs if situation warrants. We feel that it is a fallacy to think that a girl in school or college is lost forever. Early marriages should be avoided; The schools should take the initiative of ensuring that the Muslim children derive the benefit of the 15-point programme, by helping them comply with documentation required. Social Activists and NGOs could lend a helping hand in this activity; The officials of Minority Welfare Department of the State Government have to be sensitized to the problems of Muslim students in availing the benefits flowing from 15-Point Programme; 20 P a g e

21 4. CONCLUSION Our study has shown that the present day Muslims are aware of the importance of education and its role in civil society. More and more parents are willing to go an extra mile and spend an extra rupee to educate their children. Unless the Muslims educate their children and get them qualified for better-paying jobs, there is no use crying foul and complain of discrimination. We fail to understand as to why the community is afraid of secular education. The Muslims also enjoy colossal community support through the practice of Zakat (act of worship which has to be performed monetarily by distributing a prescribed amount to the poor). While the Prime Minister s new 15-Point programme for the welfare of Minorities appears to have failed completely in its objectives, many NGO s are striving to uplift the community by proving financial aid. Interestingly the rate of drop out is more among boys as compared to girls at higher secondary education. Though there is quantitative expansion of education in the direction of increasing literacy percentage, the qualitative aspect in the form of academic excellence is neglected. However this has not deterred the community from pursuing higher education. One of the demands of the Muslim community is that the Government has neglected Urdu, the mother tongue of Muslims. This aspect has also been touched by the Sachar Committee, which has made suitable recommendations. But, is education in Urdu medium (or in any vernacular medium for that matter), enough in today s world? Mr. M. Hanif Lakdawala observes in one of his essays: Major reason why Urdu medium schools lag behind English and regional language schools are the approach of the management of these schools. In today s world where there are sweeping changes are taking place in the field of education, what is required is customized approached instead of traditional and outdated strategy. Unless and 21 P a g e

22 until the management of the Urdu medium schools make efforts to have the vision statement and focus on achieving excellence in teaching and become result oriented the results of the Urdu medium schools will lag behind other medium schools. For, in spite of the fact that the Urdu medium schools in India have shown a marked improvement in preparing the students for Board examinations, the all-india results for Urdu medium schools are well below the non-urdu medium schools. Foundational base for higher education is the competency in the core subjects which are taught in Urdu as well English. But the quality of education in many Urdu medium schools is so poor that students performance is pathetic even in the core subjects which are taught in Urdu. Hence the foundation being weak, most of the students either drop out or are unemployable. It is a vicious circle. The students from the Urdu medium schools cannot survive the competition at the higher education level as well as at employment level. As a result community investment is drying for Urdu medium schools. This writer visited 12 Urdu medium schools in Maharashtra. Only two can be termed as having average infrastructure. Not a single Urdu medium school can be said to be the best in the locality. the country. Various studies indicate that non-availability of textbooks, funds and resources from State governments and non-serious attitude of most teachers are among many causes that have contributed to unpopularity and decline of standard of Urdu medium schools across Unless and until the management of the Urdu medium schools make efforts to have the vision statement and focus on achieving excellence in teaching and become result oriented the results of the Urdu medium schools will lag behind other medium schools. There is a huge pool of Muslim students who cannot survive the initial years of college education because of change in medium of instruction from Urdu to English. They ultimately drop out. Those who survive are unemployable because of lack of fluency in English or regional languages. What could be the reason for this? Many educational experts attribute the 22 P a g e

23 hardware of the educational system as the major culprit, for the poor educational standards in Muslim managed institutions in general and Urdu medium schools in particular. Second, no attempts are made to induct and retain the teaching intellectual core, which forms the basics of the faculty environment. Currently none of the Urdu medium schools in India have a vision to attract and train the best talent available. In fact, in most of the cases the selection is based on whatever is available. No specific efforts are made to attract the best talent as the intention is to survive rather than achieving excellence or even improve performance. If Urdu medium schools have to survive, it is imperative that it must improve the quality of education so that more and more students impose faith in them. For the future, Urdu Medium schools have to look for speed and need of the students. The educational should be tailor made for different socio-economic segments of the Muslim community. 23 P a g e

24 Annexure-1 Summary of observations The internees visited both Municipal and Private Muslim schools in Mumbai for gleaning information on a set of indicators that affect or that indicates the status of education in the Muslim schools. Fees Structure: Our first concern was whether the schools charged a heavy fee which the parents could not afford; one of the main reasons to stay away from school. We, therefore, inquired into the fee structure and the following are the results: Shaheen Urdu High School, Pathar Nagar, Bandra East This girls high school is run by Rahat Charitable Trust, a registered NGO and Trust, which helps students either partially, or totally through its Total Educational Support Scheme (TESS). Under this scheme, a student once selected receives almost everything to go to school on a continuing basis. Majority of the students so sponsored are orphans (having lost their fathers) and also children of divorcees and deserted women. The school charges fees at Rs. 8 per month for 8 th standard, Rs. 9 for 9 th standard & Rs. 10 for 10 th standard. Anjuman-I-Islam s High School, Versova The Anjuman-I-Islam was established in 1875 with the object of promoting educational, social, economic and general welfare of the community. Its activities are mainly confined to the field of education and social work. The internees visited the Trust s High School in Yari Road, Versova. The school charges Rs.550 per month for the secondary section. Farooq (Boys), Awami Urdu school (Government) and Anjuman school (Mumbai Central) All the three schools charged fee at the rates prescribed by the Government. Mumbai Urdu High School, Andheri West. 24 P a g e

25 The school is a Co-educational school and it has classes from 1 to 10. The School also has a preprimary section. Mumbai Urdu High School is a Private Body school. The school charged fee at the rates prescribed by the Government fees till 8 th standard. Thereafter, it charged Rs. 15 per month for 9 th and 10 th standards. Awami Urdu High School and Junior College of Commerce, Bandra West This is a government institution and charges fees at rates prescribed by the Government till i.e., Rs 8 for 8 th standard, Rs 9 for 9th standard Rs 10 for 10 th standard. Al-Itihad Urdu High School, Jogeshwari The school charges Rs.15 per month for 1st and 2 nd standard; Rs.15 per month for 3rd and 4 th ; and Rs.20 per month for 5th standard to 10th standard d as prescribed by the government. Anjuman Khairul Islam Urdu High School (Vikhroli East) The school did not charge any fee. However, it collected a small fee towards the issue of school calendar, I-cards, etc. Al-Barkaat Malik Muhammad Islam English School, Kurla. Run by Rehbar Foundation, this private School charged Rs.750 per month. Farooq High School for Girls, Andheri West It is a private-aided school for girls. The medium of instruction is Urdu. The school runs classes from 5 th to 10 th standard. The school did not disclose the fees structure. Obviously the school charged a high fee. Banegar English High School at Mira Road Managed by M.H. Banegar Educational Trust, under the Chairmanship of Md. Iqbal Banegar, it is a co-educational school running classes from Nursery to the secondary-level. The school provides education in English mediums as well as basic knowledge of Urdu and Deeniyad. The School charged Rs.375 per month for the pre-primary class and Rs.475 per month for primary and secondary classes. Anjuman Khairul Islam School, Ghatkopar 25 P a g e

26 The school charged a term fee of Rs.10 per year from 5thto 8th standards and Rs.16 per year for 9 th and 10 th standards. Besides the term fees, the school charged fees at Rs.5 per month for 5 th standards, s.6 for 6 th standard and so on. The school also charged Rs.25 per month for the computer course. It will be seen from the above that 8 of the 15 schools studied by us charged fees as prescribed by the Government. However the remaining 7 private schools run by Trusts or families charged higher fees. Such schools did not receive any aid from the government and hence were free to prescribe their own fees structure. They however provided extra amenities and better environment. Most of the schools also charge fees for computer facilities separately. Scholarship Al- Barkat, Mumbai Urdu, and Anjuman- Mumbai Central did not offer any scholarships to the students. At Al- Itihad and Anjuman, Ghatkopar we learnt that scholarships are provided by the government on the basis of merit and economic status of the students. Prematriculation scholarships were also available to the students. But, there were difficulties in availing scholarships on account of the elaborate and complicated formalities to be observed. Anjuman, Ghatkopar told us that that children of 5 th to 8 th standards were provided free text books by the State government, besides free-ship for girls (up to 3 rd child in the family). Anjuman, Versova and Banegar, Mira road granted scholarships to students on the basis of merit besides assistance to financially weak students. Awami (Private) school management entertained applications for assistance from economically weak families. Awami (government) School told us that Government provides scholarships although it is difficult to avail them on account of the formalities to be observed. Shaheen Urdu High school told us that only 1-2 students out 200 get the benefit of pre-matric scholarships given out by the government. But, the management itself gives out a few scholarships on the basis of their economic conditions. We were told by the Principal of Farooq Girls School that the Government provided English and Mathematics Kits. In the Farooq Boys School, only 15 students applied for availing the benefits under the 15 point programme We also were told that under the Government Poor Fund, the schools receive text books and work books for distribution among students of standards V to VIII. 26 P a g e

27 From the above account, it will be seen that while some of the schools did not provide any form scholarship at all, students of other schools received scholarships under Government schemes like pre-matriculation scholarships. Such scholarship is mostly provided on the basis of merit and also sometimes on the basis of economic need. Some schools provided books, stationery etc., to the students. Many schools stated that their students faced difficulties in availing scholarships from the government due to complicated formalities. Drop Out Rates As the Sachar Committee report has pointed out, the dropout rate among Muslim children are higher than children belonging to other communities. We looked into this aspect during our visits to the various schools. Shaheen Urdu high school: Approximately 50 girls out of 300 drop out after 9 th standard due to financial problems, marriage, medical problems, illiteracy of parents, shifting of residence etc. Anjuman, Mumbai Central reported 10% dropout rate among its students. Anjuman Vikhroli: The dropout rate is more among boys after 8 th and 9 th standard due to financial and family problems. Awami (Private) reported that the dropout rate is more among girls because parents shift from one place to another. Even Awami Urdu Government School said that the dropout numbers were high after ninth standard. Al-Itihad also confirmed that about 60 students drop out after 9 th std. Banegar High school told us that the rate of enrolment of boys & girls is 60% & 40% respectively. In so far dropping out is concerned, it is more with respect to girls than that of boys. However, the dropping is found to be 10% and mainly in the primary section due to failing, financial conditions, and family problems etc. Farooq Boys school told us that a majority of dropouts occur after the 9 th grade (reason: preference for English medium schools). In Farooq girls school, the dropout rate was reported to be about 10%. While Anjuman, Versova reported no dropouts in its school, it was negligible in Al- Barkat and Anjuman Ghatkopar schools. Here again, the reasons were marriage, health problems of elders and other family responsibilities, financial problems etc. Mumbai Urdu school management told us that that the dropout rate was almost equal in boys and girls. What we understood during our visit to the 15 schools was that the rate of enrolment in schools is increasing every year. The girl-boy ratio of enrolment 27 P a g e

28 is mostly equal. However, in most of the schools, students drop out in either 8 th or 9 th std. The ratio of girls who dropout is usually more than that of boys due to early marriages;, health and financial problems being common to both boys and girls families. Some schools even stated that the dropout ratio of boys was evident due to financial problems and poverty. Parents preferred boys rather work than study. There are also some complaints that parents don t send their children especially girls who are above 16 for further education. Responsiveness of Students How do the students respond to studies? Strengths and weaknesses apart, it is essential that the students should develop an aptitude for education so that they not only fulfill the aspirations of the parents but also pave their own way for a bright future. This aspect is important keeping in view the economic backwardness of the Muslim parents and the sacrifices they make in putting their children in schools at a considerable expense. We inquired of this aspect from the schools, with the following response: 1) Al-Barkat, Al-Itihad, Anjuman -Mumbai Central, Anjuman Vikhroli, Awami (Government), Farooq (Girls), Mumbai Urdu Majority students take interest in classroom activities Remedial classes for weak students They are responsive. Response is good from the students. They are attentive in class. Response of students is good. Active and positive response by the students. Response is good Girls are more attentive. Anjuman (Ghatkopar) reported that some students are shy and some are extrovert. On the other hand, Anjuman (Versova) said that only 40% students are interested and others have a casual attitude towards studies. Awami (Private) felt that 80% of the students are attentive and the behaviour of the boys is not up to the mark. Even Banegar High school told us that the students are pretty casual in their approach, adding that they are poor. Similarly, Mumbai Urdu School said that most of the students are distracted due to various reasons like financial problems. Even Shaheen Urdu high school voiced similar concern when we were told that all students are not responsive in class and 10% of them fail in 9th standard. 28 P a g e

29 The responsiveness of students to studies hinges upon the economic status of their parents, which alone assures them that they could complete their studies successfully and will not be withdrawn in mid-term to take up odd jobs or help the father in his avocation/petty business et. However the overall responsiveness of the students is good. Religious Emphasis Acquisition of Islamic knowledge is said to be a fundamental duty binding on all Muslims. Islamic education was seen as not merely the transmission of knowledge but one aimed at the moulding of the character of the student, who was expected to follow as closely as possible the pattern of the Prophet and his companions. When modern subjects were introduced under the British rule, the Muslim community viewed modern knowledge was viewed with suspicion. This led to Madrasas remaining static in their syllabus as it was felt that worldly knowledge might tempt students away from their pursuit of religion. However, reformists argue that since Islam is all-embracing in its scope, providing guidance not only for worship and devotion but also rules for collective existence, ranging from personal affairs to matters of the state, Muslims must acquire knowledge of all aspects of the duniya, in addition to that of the Shari ah. It is wrong, reformists argue, to consider that the sciences developed by people of other communities are necessarily un-islamic and false. In the non-madrasa Muslim schools, which teach modern subjects to keep up with the changing times, sometime is devoted to the teaching of Islam, so that the Muslim students do not ignore their religion. Thus, during our visits to the various Muslim schools in Mumbai, we found the following position: Al-Barkat, Al Itihad, and Farooq (girls) engage students in the reading of Quran for minutes every day. The students are taught from the translations of Quran and the meaning of the Qur anic teachings. Shaheen Urdu School does not hold such classes. Anjuman at Mumbai Central holds a prayer meeting in the morning each day. Anjuman (Versova), Awami (Private), Awami Urdu (Government) and Mumbai Urdu schools organise Deeniyat classes for students of 5 th standard onwards once or twice a week. Anjuman (Vikhroli) and Awami (Private) schools conduct Arabic classes with the help of a teacher provided by the management. 29 P a g e

30 At Banegar English High School, the students were found to be pretty casual in their approach towards religion, though they were equally religious. In the final analysis, most of the schools teach Deeniyat (towards understanding Islam) through a separate lecture. Many schools also teach Arabic language, meaning & translation of Quran, and moral education. Some schools give religious teachings only through prayers in the morning. The accent in the schools that have started preparing the students for a competitive world seems to be more on modern subjects, although religion is not lost sight of. Attitude of parents towards education Sending children to school is not the end of it. Although the primary point is that the parents should understand the value of education and put their children in school, it is essential for the parents to keep a vigilant eye on the progress of their wards at school and encourage them to do well at school as a first step to acquiring adequate qualifications. We wanted to know the attitude of Muslim parents towards secular education and the degree of encouragement that they give to their wards. Our inquiries revealed the following. Al-Barkat, Anjuman (Mumbai central), Awami (private) and Anjuman Ghatkopar schools told us that the attitude of the parents was positive towards education and the level of encouragement given to their children was high. We were also told that the attitude of parents was often good even if they were less qualified. Parents were cooperative, positive in their attitude are well aware about the importance of education. However, some parents do not encourage cultural programmes like dance and sports for girls. On the other hand, reports of Al Itihad, Anjuman (Versova), Anjuman (Vikhroli), Awami (Government), Banegar (Mira Road), Farooq (Girls), Mumbai Urdu High School, and Shaheen Urdu High school are discouraging. The following were the comments: Attitude of Parents is negligible towards studies. They do not motivate their children s for studies. 30 P a g e