3 Muslim Girls denied admission by Delhi Govt School

Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 5:16 PM
Social Jurist writes to Delhi CM

To,

Hon’ble Chief Minister

Government of N.C.T.Delhi

Delhi Secretariat, I.P. Estate , New Delhi-110003

30.04.2015

Subject:-  Illegal denial of admission to three children Kumari Anjum, age 16 years, Km. Tarannum, age 14 years,  and Km. Saba, age  13 years, all daughter of Mohd. Daraj presently residing at Plot No. 384, Block-E, Khasra No. 297, New Ashok Nagar, Delhi-110096 by Government Co-Ed Senior Secondary School , Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi-110096

Sir,

It is to bring to your kind notice the plight of three girls  Kumari Anjum, age 16 years, Km. Tarannum, age 14 years,  and Km. Saba, age  13 years, all daughter of Mohd. Daraj presently residing at Plot No. 384, Block-E, Khasra No. 297, New Ashok Nagar, Delhi-110096, who have been illegally and arbitrarily denied admission by Government Co-Ed Senior Secondary School, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi-110096.

The said three children were earlier studying in D.S.R. Modern School  in Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar which a recognized school. The father of the said three children had to shift to the aforesaid address of New Ashok Nagar with entire family on rent because of financial and employment problems. He was also not able to pay the hiked fee of the said private recognized school.

The father of the children therefore withdrew the said three  children and got the transfer certificate from the said school. Thereafter the father of the children applied for admission of his three daughters Kumari Anjum, age 16 years, Km. Tarannum, age 14 years,  and Km. Saba, age  13 years in the Government Co-Ed Senior Secondary School , Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi-110096 in Class 9, Class 9 and class 6 respectively. It is submitted that the said school is a school nearby their place of residence. However the principal of the said school refused admission to the Km. Sabha without giving any reason. In respect of Km. Anjum and Km Tarnnum, the principal asked father of the said children to bring Address Proof, Voter I Card, Bank Account and Ration Card of the current address of New Ashok Nagar. Since the family has recently shifted to Delhi, it would not be possible to get the said documents immediately. The father of the children showed the rent agreement of the current address but the principal refused to recognize the same. It is submitted that the condition put by the principal to bring said documents for admission of  Km Anjum and Km Tarnnum in school while refusing the admission to Km. Sabha without citing any reason is illegal, unjustified and violate the right to the said three children to education  as guaranteed to them by the Art 21 and 21 –A of the Constitution of India and RTE Act, 2009.

The father of the said children also submitted the letter of Sh. Praveen Kumar, MLA and Parliamentary Secretary Govt. of Delhi, to the principal of the aforesaid school. However she paid no attention to it and ignored the same.

The approach of the school authorities is culpably negligent, arbitrary and shows that the authorities of the department are apathetic and insensible towards the rights of children. These kinds of cases are coming in routine manner where the children are denied admission on such arbitrary reasons. Some stern and reformatory actions and policy decision need to be taken by your government in this regard.

You are therefore requested to take immediate appropriate action in the matter to ensure that the aforesaid children are granted admission in the aforesaid school or any other school nearby their residence.

With regards,

 Ashok Agarwal, Advocate

Advisor Social Jurist

Muslim Education Conference

Shri Kapil Sibal delivering the concluding address

The Union Minister for Communications & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Kapil Sibal delivering the concluding address at Muslim Education Conference, in Mumbai on May 30, 2013. (PIB)  31-May-2013

West Bengal madrassas attract non-Muslims

As state-run madrassas in West Bengal introduce a modern curriculum, they are not only changing perceptions about Muslim schools in the subcontinent. They are also starting to attract students from outside the Islamic faith.By Shaikh Azizur Rahman for Khabar Southeast Asia in Orgram, West Bengal
December 06, 2012.

Laboni Banerjee takes a computer class at Orgram Chatuspalli High
Madrassa, 150km north of Kolkata. She is one of many non-Muslim
pupils studying in the madrassa. [Shaikh Azizur Rahman/Khabar]

It's 10:30 in the morning and the bell rings at Chatuspalli High Madrassa in Orgram, a village about 150km north of Kolkata, signaling the start of the school day.Clad in blue and white uniforms, the boys and girls assemble in the madrassa courtyard, performing the daily ritual including taking an oath to study well, become good citizens and serve their country. The morning assembly ends with the singing of India's national anthem.
The pre-class activities at Orgram madrassa are no different than those at most mainstream public schools in India. No pupil is required to read the holy Qur'an or practice any Islamic ritual during the class.

In fact, nearly two-thirds of the co-ed madrassa's 1,200 pupils are Hindus, Christians or animists. Even ten of its 30 teachers are Hindu. The madrassa follows a modern curriculum, which perhaps explains why it is popular among non-Muslims.

Madrassas are usually thought of as Muslim-only schools where children study only theology and end up as religious teachers or future clerics.

In the wake of al-Qaeda terrorism, many in the non-Muslim world viewed South Asia's tens of thousands of madrassas with suspicion, regarding them as a breeding ground for radical strains of Islam.

But in recent years, many schools are defying the stereotype. Nearly 600 government-recognised madrassas in West Bengal have introduced a contemporary curriculum, and non-Muslims are studying in almost all of them.

Currently, about 20% of the students in the state's modernised madrassas are non-Muslim, and many of them are expecting to become engineers, doctors and scientists.

"It's primarily their modern curriculum that is drawing the non-Muslims to these madrassas," Anwar Hossain, headmaster of the Orgram madrassa, told Khabar South Asia.

"Ordinary people believe that a madrassa is a place where pupils are taught only religious subjects and it has no connection with modern education," he said. "For some years, we have been working to change their perception. We are offering our students all general subjects that their counterparts are studying in regular schools."

Orgram and similar madrassas offer courses in physics, chemistry, biology, math, geography, computer science and other regular subjects. English language and literature are compulsory for students. Arabic language and Islamic studies are taught alongside other subjects.

Funded by the state, the mainly rural madrassas charge no fees, and offer free school uniforms and midday meals, making them especially attractive to students from poor and middle-class families.

Increasingly, Muslims are graduating from madrassas and going on to establish themselves as professionals – providing an example that inspires non-Muslims as well, many say. More and more parents are exploring the possibility of sending their children to the Muslim schools.

"Until recently, madrassas in this Hindu-dominated society carried a stigma which kept non-Muslim students away from these Islamic institutions," said Humayun Kabir, a pediatrician who studied in a madrassa. "But now they know that it is not difficult for a madrassa student to become a doctor, engineer or scientist in future, and so they have begun sending their children to madrassas."

Some Hindu students say their madrassa education has helped them better understand Islam and brought them closer to Muslims, helping to at least partially bridge the historical divide between the two communities.

"Before I came to study in a madrassa, I was told that Islam was a militant religion and Muslims could not be friends of Hindus. They also said that Muslims were biased against other religions," Uttam Mistry, a 12th grader in Orgram madrassa, told Khabar.

"But now I have found that people have many misconceptions about Islam and Muslims." Laboni Banerjee, an 11th grade student, agrees.

"After studying at this madrassa for some years I know that Islam teaches Muslims to respect all other religions," she told Khabar. "I believe that throughout my life, despite remaining a Hindu, I shall have a special bonding with Islam and Muslims."
Laboni Banerjee takes a computer class at Orgram Chatuspalli High Madrassa, 150km north of Kolkata. She is one of many non-Muslim pupils studying in the madrassa. [Shaikh Azizur Rahman/Khabar]