Conceptualizing the idea for bringing progressive and sustainable change in the Madarsas through alternative pedagogical practices is appreciable. These are the views expressed by Mr. Abdul Qayyum Ansari, Chairman, Bihar State Madarsa Education Board, during the valedictory program of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -Maulana Azad National Urdu University Adolescents Education Programme Project. A seven-day state-level training under UNFPA-MANUU AEP which started on November 18 ended successfully on November 24 at Patna, Bihar. While highlighting the importance of education, Mr. Qayyum Ansari stressed that Islam begins with the command to ‘read’ and to ‘know’. He appreciated the contribution of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in imparting effective training to the Master Trainers and Facilitators.
The Training was conducted to train 48 Master Trainers and Facilitators who will further train 1000 Madarsa Teachers. AEP is scaled up in all Madarsas of Bihar under the leadership of Bihar State Madarsa Education Board. The program focuses on adolescent’s empowerment, capacity building, and responsible citizenship. It envisages developing resource centers for a cluster of 40 madrasas which will act as a technical hub for training, counseling and creative expressions to trigger agency in students of madrasas.
Dr. Muhammad Nadeem Noor, Chief, UNFPA, Bihar in his address said that Conceptualising and giving concrete shape to the AEP Project was not an easy task. To address issues of Muslims, this is possibly going to be the second-largest team of professionals on the ground after Polio Programme, he reminded. He expressed that a strong vision to serve the underserved has played a vital role in integrating all the stakeholders including Jamia Millia Islamia, MANUU, Bihar Madarasa Board, and UNFPA.
The Project Director, Prof. Mohd Shahid (MANUU) reminded the objectives of the program and requested all trainers to be upfront in the field with honesty and integrity. He clarified that such training will be continued in the future to ensure effective implementation of the program.
Hasan Waris, Senior Consultant, UNFPA, and Neha Mallick, Programme Manager, UNFPA also graced the program. Dr. Shafayat Ahmad, Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, Dr. Chand Ansari, Dr. Md. Afroz Alam, Sonu Rajak, Shafeeque Ahmad, and Dr. Afroz Ansari were the key trainers who successfully conducted the training.
Md Israr Alam compered the valedictory session and commented on the process of the training. Prof. Faiz Ahmad, Principal CTE, MANUU Darbhanga, and AEP Project Coordinator proposed a vote of thanks. He expressed gratitude to the Chairman, Bihar Madarsa Education Board for his support at all fronts. He also thanked Prof. Mohd Shahid for anchoring and Dr. Nadeem Noor for conceptualizing the whole program.
