WB Govt to grant approval to 500 Urdu schools

Updated on: Friday, September 18, 2009

Kolkata: The government has a special gift for the minority community on the eve of Eid â€” it is granting approval to 500 Urdu-medium schools. Decks have also been cleared for state approval to 400 madarsas.

In addition, the West Bengal Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) is setting up special training modules for jobseekers. Under this programme, 'master trainers' will visit every block to train youths from the minority community.

State minority affairs minister Abdus Sattar confirmed that the 500 schools are being given government approval and will receive aid from the state. He also said there has been a demand from the minority community for approval to minority-run schools.

'The state government is converting 300 schools into madhyamik siksha kendras while 200 schools will be turned into sishu siksha kendras,' Sattar explained.

The minister said the teachers would be paid from the state exchequer. The schools' infrastructure would also be developed by the government. Sattar said 400 madarsas had applied to the state for conversion and sanction has been granted.

Atiya Mushtaque, member of National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI), said they had been asking the government to grant recognition to minority schools as a large number of students are enrolled there. 'We had requested Left Front chairman Biman Bose to grant recognition to these schools. Things are headed in that direction now,' Mushtaque added.

Md Salim, chairman of WBMFDC, said the aim of developing the 'master trainer' module is to produce teachers who will train jobseekers at various levels. The master trainers will be trained by WBMFDC through residential programmes and sent to different blocks to teach jobseekers. This will provide relief to youths seeking jobs as they do not have to travel to the city for training.

'As there are around 53,000 seats, our master trainers can teach at least 1 lakh jobseekers for primary schools. This will help more minority candidates qualify as teachers,' Salim said, adding that similar steps are afoot to help those applying for SSC and PSC examinations.

WB Govt to grant approval to 500 Urdu schools

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