Madrassa Modernisation Scheme – UP Govt. Enhances Teaching Honorarium

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Government has increased the teaching honorarium for teachers hired by Madrassas under the Madrassa Modernization Scheme in the State. The Central Government scheme named as Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (SPQEM) provides Rs. 12,000 to post graduate teachers while graduate teachers are paid Rs. 6,000. The UP Govt has been adding Rs. 2,000 from its side on the two categories. With the latest decision, the teachers hired under the scheme will be receiving Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 9,000 respectively. The UP cabinet of ministers took the decision on October 16.
The Akhil Bhartiya Adhunik Shikshak Sangh (All India Association of Teachers under Madrassas Modernisation Scheme) had demanded upward revision of the allowance and had observed a one-day strike last month. It had said that nearly 23,000 teachers in UP were engaged in teaching of modern sciences in the State for the last 23 years (the original scheme was launched in 1994).
It is useful to be reminded that teachers under the SPQEM scheme have not been paid allowances for the last two years as was found in a survey by Islamic Voice (vide our report in October 2016 issue).