Indian state halts paying teachers at Muslim schools, thousands to suffer

NEW DELHI

A decision by officials in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to stop paying teachers at around 7,000 Muslim schools or madrassas is set to impact thousands of teachers in the country's populous state.

According to officials, over 21,000 teachers were providing modern education to the students enrolled at madrassas in the state.

Apart from students, the teachers will also suffer due to the decision by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government.

“Besides the teachers, this decision will also impact the students,” Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, head of Uttar Pradesh's madrasa education board, told Anadolu.

Javed said that the teachers belonged to both Muslim and Hindu communities and he has written a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Attempts by Anadolu to seek reaction from concerned officials did not materialize.

The affected teachers were the “force behind modernizing the madrassa education,” said Javed, adding he informed Modi that thousands of students from modest backgrounds have entered mainstream education due to their efforts.

Javid said he was in touch with officers “so that this issue is resolved.”

Uttar Pradesh is the most populated province with a population of 204 million, with a minority Muslim community, comprising 38 million.​​​​​​​

Samiullah Khan, a teacher who also formed a forum to deal with the issue said the government of India in 1990’s had launched a scheme for modernization of madrassa education in the country and for the last few years, federal funds stopped coming to the teachers employed like him.

Under the scheme -- renamed Scheme for Providing Education in Madrasas and Minorities -- depending on the qualification, teachers were paid 6,000 Indian rupees ($72) and 12,000 rupees ($144).

The state government in Uttar Pradesh had in 2016 decided to pay an extra amount of 2,000 rupees ($24) and 3,000 rupees ($36) as honorarium to the teachers, said Khan.

Then the government also ordered the additional payment was liable to pay only as long as the scheme was in operation.

According to Khan, the scheme was initially a fully funded federal scheme, but around the year 2018 states were told they would also provide a 40% share to manage the funds for the same.

Khan said the same year, funds from the central government started coming “in an interrupted manner.”

The state government too has not paid its share to the teachers since last year, said Khan.

It “decided to stop paying altogether additional honorarium this month,” he added.

The decision has now brought worry to the teachers like Khan.

“For many months, we were getting that small amount and were running the families…but now that amount has been stopped as well.”

The madrasas in India have come under tight scrutiny in the BJP-ruled states. In northeastern state of Assam, the authorities recently converted and renamed 1,281 madrasas across the state into schools.