Waqf Board chief seeks abolition of Chhattisgarh Madrasa Board, pitches minority education authority

RAIPUR: Requesting to abolish the state Madrasa Board and replace it with a minority education authority on the lines of Uttarakhand, the chairman of the Chhattisgarh state waqf board, Salim Raj, has urged chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai to adopt a similar model to modernise madrasa education. In a letter dated July 3, Raj stated that the existing Madrasa board has failed to equip students with modern education and vocational skills, leaving many confined to religious studies and limiting their employment opportunities. The waqf board chairman claimed that around 418 madrasas are functioning in the state, but only a few offer education up to the higher secondary level. He alleged that many institutions continue to impart only primary religious education and lack curricula aligned with the modern education system, raising concerns over students' future prospects.Raj has proposed that madrasas be linked to the state school education board and that an expert committee be constituted to frame a curriculum balancing religious instruction with modern subjects. The state govt is yet to respond to the proposal.