Yogi Adityanath government has decided to do away with the condition of proficiency in Urdu language for appointment of teachers in state-funded madarsas for teaching science and mathematics.

“The matter was under the consideration of the state government for quite some time. After the direction from the government, a cabinet note has been prepared by the Minority Welfare department and it has been sent to the government for further action,” said an official of the UP Madarsa Board.

At present, the state government gives grants to 560 madarsas across Uttar Pradesh. The annual grant to madarsas during the current fiscal 2019-20 is Rs 844 crore. The aided madarsas are registered and recognised by the UP Madarsa Board.

Out of the 560 government-aided madarsas, around 350 impart education from primary to fazil (post-graduate course). The madarsas, on an average, get a grant of Rs 3-4 lakh per month, which includes the salaries of 15-17 teachers. The total number of students in aided and un-aided madarsas registered with the UP Madarsa Board is around 26 lakh in primary to fazil courses.

The Yogi government in 2018 had launched a portal making it mandatory for madarsas, numbering approximately 19,000 across the state, to register on it. The compliance was 100 percent.

Later, on investigation, it was found that out of the 19,000 non-aided madarsas, 4,200 did not exist. Thus, the total number of madarsas running in UP is estimated to be 14,000.

The move came in the wake of complaints about irregularities in madarsas, and it was aimed at bringing more transparency in the working of madarsas under the UP Madarsa Board.