The Sachar Committee revealed that a sizeable chunk of the population was stuck in the clutches of poverty and deprived of equitable growth opportunities. Another observation is that while the literacy rate for Muslim males is 66% the work participation rates for Muslim males in Delhi was only 30%. This indicates that employability is a matter of concern. One of the reason for this gap between literacy and employment is the education is limited to madarsas. There is rarely a debate or discussion where education in madarsas, especially religious eduction does not lead to controversy.
A madrasa is usually set up alongside a mosque with not too much area to its credit. Madrasas charge no fees and most provide full boarding and lodging skills while teaching students the fundamentals of their faith as their basic objective. This education does not seek to impart knowledge of the sciences and arts.
It does however lead to diminished employability in non religious spaces.
Nizamuddin Basti is home to several madarsas and maqtabs. The project has initiated a programme to enhance the quality of education offered in the madarsas by providing a teacher for Hindi, English, Mathematics and computer education. In addition, the children from madarasa participate in the regular events that take place in the Basti and school.
The project is working in 2 madarsas and 2 maqtabs covering almost 150 children. Since the time we began in 2014, we have covered over 250 children.
All the children in the madarsas needed to be taught the basics of Hindi, English and Mathematics as their education was limited to religious education only.
