Darul Uloom Deoband among 306 madrasas in Saharanpur not recognised by UP Madarsa Board: Survey

World’s renowned Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband and other 305 madrasas in Saharanpur district are not recognised by the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Education Board, according to the state government which is conducting the controversial survey of “unrecognised” madrasas in the state.

As per the rules, madrasas not recognized by the state board are not entitled to get benefit of government schemes like scholarship, salary for teachers, among others.

District Minority Welfare Officer Bharat Lal Gaur told PTI on Saturday that a total of 754 madrasas are registered in Saharanpur. The number of unrecognized madrasas in the district is 306, he said, adding the information has been shared with the government as part of its survey on madrasas in the state. According to the news agency, Gaur said the government had fixed 12 points, on the basis of which the survey of madrasas was done.

Responding over the development, Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani said the institution has never taken any kind of aid or grant from any government.

Nomani said the ‘Shura Society’ of the Darul Uloom is registered under the Societies Act and the seminary operates as per the right to freedom of religion under the Constitution, reported the PTI. The prominent madrasa has been doing educational work and serving the country and the community as well for more than 150 years. The Islamic seminary, established in 1866, has never taken any kind of aid or grant from any government, Javed  said.

There are 16,513 recognised madrasas with about 20 lakh students in the state, according to the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board. And 560 of them are receiving grants from the Uttar Pradesh government. “After the survey, we are going to clean the system and help our madrasa students compete with the students in the mainstream,” he said.