India is home to approximately 213 million Muslims, the third largest Muslim population in the world. More than 11% of the world’s Muslims live in India. They constitute 14.2% of the country’s population. It is a national loss that such a large section of society is suffering from severe marginalisation, extreme exclusion and deep deprivation.
Their representation in any sphere of social and economic life including education is not in proportion to their population. For example, Muslims account for about 5.5% of total enrollment and faculty in higher education.
Muslims are about 72% religious minority in India, but only 22.75% in minority educational institutions. In absolute terms, the number of educational institutions established, run, managed and maintained by the Muslim community would be huge. A statement in 2019 by the Minister for Minority Affairs claimed that 13,000 educational institutions had been given minority status.
The actual number of schools, colleges and universities established, run, managed and maintained, excluding madrassas and maktabs, would run into several thousands. The community owes a great debt to the philanthropic forefathers who had the foresight to establish these institutions. Not wanting to be dependent on the colonial masters, they considered it their duty to manage the education of their children. They sought to become self-reliant or ‘self-reliant’ to use contemporary language. The tradition continues, though not with the same zeal and enthusiasm as before.
An aspiration for quality education
Muslims aspire to get quality education for their children irrespective of the type and type of schools, colleges and universities (government, government aided and self-financed private). They may not necessarily want to study in educational institutions run by Muslims. Restrained by their socio-economic conditions and circumstances, a vast majority of them are unable to afford them. Therefore, the community should establish many more schools, colleges and universities to provide educational opportunities not only to the Muslim minorities but also to all sections of the society.
Also, Muslim students should be enabled to access any educational institution of quality and choice. Crucially, improving the quality of educational institutions established and run by the community as minority or non-minority institutions appears imminent. Recently, there has been some development in this regard and some schools, colleges and universities are being counted among the best and most sought after. Learning from best practices, every effort should be made to raise the standards of all schools to a level where all sections of the society aspire to educate their children.
resources and support
The task is difficult and the path is difficult. It may be easier said than done, but it has to be done sooner rather than later. Most Muslim minority educational institutions, especially those established in the distant past, suffer from paucity of resources. Aided people suffer from lack of funds as aid grants have not kept pace with the expansion in demand. Self-financed are constrained by a lack of affordability in the community they seek to serve, and therefore cannot charge fees sufficient to cover the cost of maintenance and teachers.
Can the community come forward to support these institutions? Could these institutions attempt full cost recovery with cross-subsidy and community members agreeing to bear the cost of education for as many students as they can afford? Can the Ulema come together to find ways and means to raise and use Zakat for this purpose?
Adequate funding for physical facilities, teaching and research infrastructure and human resources may be a necessary condition for promoting excellence. However, this in itself will not be sufficient. Special attention needs to be paid to leadership, management and governance. Leadership, Management and Governance play a vital role in ensuring that the teaching-learning process runs smoothly and excellence becomes a habit in all spheres of the Institute.
It is important that managers, managing committees, heads of institutions and their faculty work together towards common institutional objectives as a cohesive team with goal congruence. This can go a long way in improving the learning-teaching process, reputation and brand building. It is a sad reality of our times that there has been a serious compromise with the appointment of teachers in all educational institutions across the country. The appointment of para-teachers, part-time appointments and guest faculty on paltry amounts has spoiled the system. Muslim-managed educational institutions have been no exception. Resource paucity cannot be the only reason behind such practices.
corruption issue
Corruption and unethical practices in the selection and recruitment of teachers are no longer the exception. Allegations and allegations of demanding payments for permanent appointments have come up again and again and again. It would be foolish to expect quality education from such teachers. At least they can be expected to be ethical in the discharge of the responsibilities assigned to them. In-service training and professional development are also important and can help teachers stay up to date with the latest research, trends, and best practices in education. However, unless the institutions remove all compulsions, considerations and pressures and ensure the appointment of the most meritorious teachers, no amount of training is likely to work.
fostering a positive school culture that also fosters student engagement, motivation and achievement sign qualification non, Can our institutions implement restorative justice practices, encourage student-led initiatives, and support positive behavior? Families and the community should be involved in the educational process to promote student success using close parent-teacher interactions, family engagement programs, and community involvement. The focus should be on fostering a culture of continuous improvement and encouraging stakeholders to seek opportunities to improve their practice.
Essentially, the discourse on Muslim education must move away from the mainstream of madrassas and their modernization. Attention should be paid to mainstream schools, colleges and universities, which cater to 96% Muslim children.
Furqan Qamar, former Adviser on Education in the Planning Commission, is Professor in the Faculty of Management Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.