The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government recently issued a Government Resolution (GR) by which the Minorities Development Department will be disbursing Rs 10 lakhs for modernisation of madrasas across the state.
The disbursed money will have to be utilised for the construction of libraries, pay for the salaries of teachers, and for the general modernisation of the madrasas.
The disbursals will be done through the Dr. Zakir Hussain Madrasah Modernization Scheme. To avail of the grants, the madrasas will have to follow certain rules.
Only those madrasas that are registered with the Wakf board will be able to avail of the grant under this scheme.
The students studying in these madrasas will have to take admission to government schools simultaneously.
Apart from religious teaching, the madrasas will also need to engage the teachers to teach science and math, states the resolution, and only such madrasas will get priority.
These teachers will be hired on a contract basis and their salary will be paid by the state government. The state education officer will have to check and then permit such disbursal of the amount stated in the GR.
There has to be one madrasa in one building and only those madrasas that fullfill all the criteria will get the sanction, said the GR. There are 121 registered madrasas in the state.
The GR was issued on December 22. The BJP, one of the essential parties in the alliance in Maharashtra government, had earlier demanded the shutting down of these madrasas and MLA Atul Bhatalkar had written a letter to the government earlier asking for it.