The Role of Indian Madrasahs in Providing Access to Mainstream Education for Muslim Minority Students: A West Bengal Experience

Abstract

The paper discusses educational constitutional provisions for minorities in India, especially for Muslims. It also portrays the development and contribution of the Madrasah system, particularly in West Bengal, with special reference to efforts made by the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education to bring Muslim children into the national system of education. Based on a survey administered in some madrasahs, the paper also highlights some aspects of their functioning as well as the problems that they are facing. The authors conclude by arguing that such an initiative could inspire other states in India aiming at providing better access to formal education among marginalized groups.Résumé Cet article présente les protections consenties par la Constitution indienne en matière d'éducation aux minorités, et particulièrement aux musulmans. Il dresse également un portrait du développement et de la contribution du système des madrasahs, notamment dans l'État du West Bengal, en accordant une attention particulière aux efforts faits par le West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education afin de favoriser l'intégration des élèves musulmans au système national d'éducation. En se basant sur une étude quantitative menée dans plus de deux cents madrasahs, l'article illustre également divers aspects de leur fonctionnement ainsi que les problèmes auxquels elles font face. En conclusion, les auteurs font valoir qu'une telle initiative pourrait inspirer d'autres États en Inde qui ont pour objectif de fournir un meilleur accès à l'éducation formelle au sein des groupes marginalisés.

Being Muslim in China: Hui Ethnic Perspective

“…This Madrasah has been giving opportunity for Muslim getting formal education after graduating from Madrasah. These researches again proved that the issue of minority still being an important and an interesting topic to be discussed (Akhtar & Narula, 2010).…”

“…The research sites are including Australia, Uganda, India, China, Thailand, United State, United Kingdom, Austria and another Western European Countries. The topics are also vary such as leadership meaning (Sohrabi, 2016), identity development (Spiegler, 2019), minority education (Akhtar & Narula, 2010;Mcandrew & Ipgrave, 2010;Schulz, 2013), socio-economic integration (Sezgin, 2019), Muslimah literacy (Islam & Siddiqui, 2020), meaning of employment (Tariq & Syed, 2017), minority family (Budhwani et al, 2018), and minority humour (Michael, 2013).…”

Availability and Accessibility of Islamic Religious Education Elementary School Students in Non-Muslim Base Areas, North Minahasa, Indonesia

“…e laws in force in Indonesia have guaranteed it. However, the research will be like the expectations of this research in terms of emphasizing the function of the state, which must provide proper educational services to children, especially for children of learning age [37][38][39][40][41] conducted in another study.…”

Talim, Dindari aur Shaadi (Education, Religiosity and Marriage): Choosing Madrasa Education for Girls

“…In a similar vein, Sikand (2005) contends that it is not ‘Muslim backwardness’ which is responsible for Muslims opting for madrasa education, but that madrasas are often the only affordable alternative for poor Muslims. Other scholars argue that rather than an active choice, madrasas emerge as popular options in the context of declining or inadequate government schools, especially in rural areas (Akhtar & Narula, 2010; P. Jeffery, R. Jeffery, & Jeffrey, 2005).…”