Maharashtra Minority Commission calls for survey of all minority schools

Mumbai Suburban district has the second-highest number of Urdu-medium schools

Maharashtra Minority Commission Chairman Pyare Jiya Khan has called for a comprehensive survey of all minority schools in the state. He has sought collaboration between the State Minority Commission and the State School Education Department to assess and enhance the quality of education at these institutions.

Khan has expressed concern over the declining education standards in many Muslim minority schools, highlighting the adverse effects on students and a pervasive lack of accountability. His call to action follows a recent controversy at an Urdu school in Akola, where a teacher allegedly faced sexual harassment. Khan has also written to State School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse, recommending the revocation of approval and minority status for the Muslim school in Akola and 21 other schools affiliated with the same trust.

Maharashtra Minority Commission Chairman Pyare Jiya Khan

Khan has further initiated a crackdown on Urdu schools following complaints of bribery in teacher appointments and cases of sexual harassment. Khan said that he received multiple complaints from teachers alleging that school management had demanded R40 lakh for appointments. In the Akola case, the management allegedly extorted 20 to 30 per cent of teachers' salaries and harassed those who failed to comply.

On Wednesday, Khan wrote to the state school education department recommending cancelling the recognition and stopping grants for at least 22 Urdu schools in the state that are managed by the trust that operated the Akola school. He stated, "I have requested School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse to cancel the recognition and grants of these schools."

"There is no accountability, and the careers of students are being jeopardised due to this. These schools use minority status to evade their obligatory duties like RTE and other rules; hence, their minority status should be cancelled," Khan asserted. He also alleged that many school managements appoint relatives and acquaintances to teaching positions, neglecting qualified candidates. "This needs to be investigated by the school education department," Khan said.

Speaking to mid-day, Sajid Nisar Ahmed, Founder and General Secretary of the Akhil Bhartiya Urdu Shikshak Sangh, said, "We condemn the incidents that occurred in the Akola schools and are appreciative of Mr Khan's support for the teachers involved. However, his suggestion to revoke the minority status of all schools is unfair."

A South Mumbai school principal said, "It is not so easy to just revoke the minority status of all schools indiscriminately. While action against institutions misusing their minority status is justified, advocating for the removal of this status across the board is both illogical and unjust."

Former Maharashtra State Minority Commission Chairman J M Abhyankar, currently representing the Mumbai teachers' constituency as an MLC, noted that deteriorating educational quality is not exclusive to minority institutions but is also evident in many non-minority schools. "Khan focuses on schools with religious minorities. The state government is limited in its ability to intervene in the operations of these institutions," he said.

Urdu (minority) schools

As per UDISE Plus report, there are a total 8719 schools in the state having a minority status. A total of 2,72,091 students from the respective minority groups and 7,95,516 students from non-minority are enrolled in these schools. As of the 2021-2022 academic year, there were 4900 Urdu-medium schools in Maharashtra, with the Mumbai suburban district hosting the second-highest number of such schools (303). In Mumbai city, there were 95 Urdu-medium schools. Total number of Urdu medium schools in the state has since increased to 5438 schools by the 2023-2024 academic year.