Over 7,000 unrecognised madrasas have been identified in Uttar Pradesh in a recent survey carried out by the state Minority Affairs department.
The final list of unrecognised madrasas will be announced only after the district magistrates submit their reports by November 15.
Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education, said the process to identify the actual numbers would still take time, but they had estimated around 7,500 such madrasas which were surveyed by teams in 75 districts.
“In Uttar Pradesh, there are 16,513 recognised madrasas, out of which 560 are government aided. There are 350 madrasas with less than 15 students. The teaching staff of 560 madrasas have pay scales similar to those in Central government-run secondary schools,” he said.
Under the madrasa modernisation scheme, 744 madrasas are given grants for shiksha mitra, and a scholarship is given to meritorious students of all registered madrasas.
The unrecognised madrasas are likely to be considered for recognition by the Board of Madrasa Education if they meet the government mandated requirements of basic facilities, such as classroom, table, bench, chairs for students, proper lights and fans, toilets, and others. Further, they can also apply for wages for teaching and non-teaching employees.
According to the preliminary survey report, there are 150 unofficial madrasas in Gorakhpur, 100 in Lucknow, Azamgarh, Varanasi, and Mau, 90 in Aligarh, 85 in Kanpur Nagar, 70 in Prayagraj and 35 in Agra.