EDUCATIONAL INCLUSION OF MUSLIM CHILDREN:

EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES AND INCLUSIVE STRATEGIES

Dr. Sajid Jamal And Dr. Abdul Raheem

Associate Professor, Associate Professor,
Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University,
College of Teacher Education, Bhopal College of Teacher Education, Srinagar
shadansj07@rediffmail.com araheemedu@gmail.com, abdulraheem_011@yahoo.com
 INTRODUCTION
 In most of the developed countries, education is free and

compulsory up to the elementary stage

 This importance of education is given due weightage in the

constitution of India and it laid down under the Directive Principles

of State Policy, that “the state shall endeavour to provide within
a period of 10 years from the commencement of this
Constitution for the free and compulsory education of all
children until they complete the age of 14 years.”
 INTRODUCTION
 The Muslims along with the other weaker sections of the society have

been benefited with the programmes and India is now in the position of

100% enrolments at elementary level but there exists wide disparities

among the socio-religious communities of India, Muslim children being at

the lowest in hierarchy of almost all indicators related to UEE.

 And, (that is why) the RTE Act–2009 come into existence which

guarantees free and compulsory elementary education of the

children of age group 6-14 in neighbourhood schools.

 INTRODUCTION

 Access and equity in enrolment, ensuring the retention, minimum

level of learning and quality are the demand of the RTE Act–2009.

 Now, in this context, it becomes necessary to look into the matter

of educational exclusion of Muslim children so that proper

strategies may be chalked out to include them in the mainstream

and to let them benefit from RTE Act-2009 because these are the

darken side of the same enlightened coin of UEE in India.

 Certain ground realities about the participation of Muslim
minority children in (elementary) education:

 Sachar Committee Report reveals that literacy levels amongst

SCs/STs have increased at a faster rate than for other SRCs

(Socio-Religious communities) leaving behind Muslims

 Mean Years of Schooling (MYS) average is 4 years. The MYS of

Muslims is the lowest (about 3 years 4 months).

 Certain ground realities about the participation of Muslim
minority children in (elementary) education:

 Despite the positive recommendations of different Committees, in

many states, there is a dearth of facilities for teaching Urdu.

The number of Urdu medium schools is very less in most States

 As many as 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age

group have either never attended school or have dropped out.

This is higher than that of any other SRCs

 Certain ground realities about the participation of Muslim
minority children in (elementary) education:
 Draft report on Magnitude of child labour in India by National

Commission for Protection of Child Rights reveal that in 5-14 years

of age group the maximum participation in child work force is
from the Muslim community
 Though the all-India literacy level of Muslims are somewhat

satisfactory, stratified analysis of state data, by internal

stratification, place of residence and by gender, presents a less
flattering picture of the status of Muslims (Sachar Committee
Report)
 Identifying Causes of Educational Exclusion of Muslim
minority children:
 Social causes: Lack of awareness, motivation and social hindrance

like caste system, purdah system, etc.

 Economical causes:

 As it has double effect, unable to pay educational expenses, child

labour resulting in immediate return
 Lack of motivation and scholarship for the Muslim children at all
the levels of education
 Poor health and sanitation condition, under nourished children,
etc., causes absenteeism and dropouts
 Identifying Causes of Educational Exclusion of Muslim
minority children: Educational causes
 Illiteracy of Muslim parents as well as being the first generation
learners
 Living in remote areas, no nearby schools, etc. causes non-
enrolment, non-attendance and finally dropout.
 Lack of access to government and good public/private schools
for Muslim children, insufficient number of (quality) schools
providing the elementary education through Urdu as medium of
instruction also contribute towards non-enrollment and dropouts.
Identifying Causes of Educational Exclusion of Muslim
minority children: Educational causes
 Sometimes the non-availability of teachers from their
community develops the feeling of insecurity of their traditions
and cultures
 Non availability of good books develop negative interest in
teaching learning and consequently contribute to the
absenteeism from the school.
Identifying Causes of Educational Exclusion of Muslim
minority children:

Political causes: The policies framed by the government in real

spirit sometimes do not reach adequately to the targeted
sections because of loopholes in the channel system
 Consequences of Educational Exclusion of Muslim Minority
Children:
The deprivation of elementary education (either dropped out or low
quality) leads to

further deprivation of secondary, senior secondary and higher

education and ultimately of employment and livelihood.

These consequences not only have the impact on the particular

excluded group for a year or more, it encompasses generations to
generations.

.
Strategies for Educational Inclusion of Muslim Minority Children:
Social inclusion of Muslim children

 First of all, it is required that the Muslims must the change

their attitude about themselves and make serious efforts to
be educated.This will help in real access to the important
resources of school and society, i.e., teachers and well off
personalities. This requires mass and targeted campaigns by
the government as well as NGOs under RTE Act, 2009.
 Strategies for Educational Inclusion of Muslim Minority
Children:
 Economic inclusion of Muslim children:

 Reservation for Muslims in education at all levels and employment

taking into consideration of all the internal stratification of Muslim
community.
 Scholarship for the needy Muslim children at all the levels of
education, i.e., elementary, secondary, senior secondary and higher
education.
 Special health awareness and camp programme along with ensuring

the availability of mobile hospitals to such schools or locality where ill

health cases may arise.
Strategies for Educational Inclusion of Muslim Minority Children:
Educational inclusion of Muslim children
 Targeting the Muslim population in Adult/Continuing education

programmes and literacy awareness march under RTE Act provision.

 There should be sufficient number of schools (colleges) providing the

elementary (secondary, higher secondary and the higher) education

through the Urdu as medium of instruction. The RTE Act should take into
consideration of these peripheries for the inclusion of Muslim children at
the elementary level.
 When a Muslim child has been enrolled in particular class, as per the

RTE Act provisions, the school should be given responsibility for the
retention till he/she completes the elementary education.
 Strategies for Educational Inclusion of Muslim Minority
Children: Educational inclusion of Muslim children
 There should be sufficient number of Government and public/private

schools with good infrastructural facilities and learning environment to

ensure quality education and the participation of the targeted Muslim
population should be ensured under RTE Act.
 Higher drop-out rate among Muslim girls is due to the non-availability of

schools within easy reach for girls at lower levels of education, absence
of girl’s hostels, absence of female teachers and availability of
scholarships as they move up the education ladder have also been
pointed out by Sachar Committee. A special targeting programme and
policies needs to be framed to ensure the retention and completion of
elementary education of the girl children under RTE Act.
 Strategies for Educational Inclusion of Muslim Minority
Children: Educational inclusion of Muslim children
 Madarsas should also be entrusted and given responsibility for

elementary education of the children of Muslim minority by giving

proper financial aids and facilities under RTE Act.
Strategies for Educational Inclusion of Muslim Minority Children:
Political inclusion of Muslim children
 It must be insured that the Muslim Minority (children) including all within

stratifications are getting the benefits of the various planning and

governmental schemes.
 Government provisions as per the recommendations made NPE-1986 for the

betterment of SC and ST may prove to be fruitful for the Muslim minority children
also.
 Under RTE Act, the government should make priorities along these lines to

(qualitative) include educationally the children of the largest minority of India at

elementary level.
 Conclusion:
 Educational inclusion of the Muslim minority children requires a
long-term strategic planning.
 RTE Act, while tackling educational exclusion of Muslim minority
children requires a multi-faceted approach to action on a number
of fronts.
 If only one aspect is considered and taken care off (e.g.
education), the success will be unlikely because other aspects of
exclusion will prevent effective progress.
 Whatever the laws, policies and programmes made, it is the
duty of the government to enforce them tactfully.
Thank U