Classroom coexistence

A Muslim society in UP runs schools that go beyond community. Sanskrit and Urdu are both part of curriculum

HERE, Sana Bano can rattle off Sanskrit shlokas and Ashwini Jaiswal can perfect the cursive of the Urdu script. As far as the Faiz-e-Aam Muslim Educational Society is concerned, the Sachar Committee report’s findings do not apply. The report says there is no school in around 2000 Muslim-dominated villages in UP but for the society, and its chain of 27 schools in the villages of Faizabad, the result is for everybody to see. Eight-year-old Sana and Ashwini (7) are first-generation learners of their families but that did not stop them from clinching 92 per cent and 96 per cent marks in the annual examinations, the highest for the society’s schools.

They are among 6,804 students in primary and secondary sections learning modern science and computers besides Urdu and Sanskrit. Yet, Mohammad Akhtar Siddiqui knows what Faizabad stands for to the outside world. “Those who are acquainted with Faizabad district where Ayodhya, the hotbed of Hindu-Muslim politics, is located, know how rare a scene it would be of burqua clad girls and girls sporting tilaks attending biology practical classes or receiving primary lessons of Sanskrit and Urdu together,” says the 58-year-old educationist who began the experiment eight years ago.

“I found that most of the kids used to stay away from schools and there was nobody to motivate them,” says Siddiqui who taught in government schools for 16 years before starting out on his own. “So I decided to rewrite my role in the field of education. I was ridiculed initially but now I am excited to see the fruit of my humble attempt.”

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In the past six years, attendance has gone up by more than 100 per cent as the education department confirms. In these 27 villages, 90 per cent of the children go to school whereas in 1998, it was only 30 per cent. The literacy rate, which was 30 per cent among children below 15, is now 60 per cent. And, 55 per cent of the students are the first from their families to attend school. As of now, the schools have 6,804 students of which 3,596 are Muslims.

“We don’t believe in the growth of the Muslim community in isolation as it will lead to another imbalance. Besides, girls are more welcome than boys because educating a girl means educating generations to come. It is also necessary to sensitise a family to be tolerant to the neighbour who may be following some other religion,” says Siddiqui.

“Initially, Muslim parents didn’t want to send their children to school. And in case of girls, they were hell-bent on keeping their daughters away from any activity outside home. So, I made it a point to meet two or three imams every Friday. My two minutes with them was frustrating initially but it worked after they visited my schools and found everything was in order,” recalls Siddiqui.

The schools charge Rs 20 per month but for 761 BPL families, the school provides the stationery and other resources.