Central Madarsa Board to be set up after consensus: Sibal

New Delhi, Oct 4 (ANI): Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal has said that setting up of a Central Madarsa Board to oversee Muslim education would be made only after a consensus.

After his meeting with Muslim MPs here on Saturday, Sibal said: "There were three kinds of opinions that has emerged during course of discussion. About four-five Member of Parliament suggested that we should not go ahead. An equal number of lawmakers suggested that this was a good proposal and the large majority said that the proposal is in the right direction."

"But we need to be very careful about the provisions. We need to recast many provisions to which I said I am in complete agreement specially the provisions in respect of the constitution of the Madarsa Board," he added.

At least 20 lawmakers from various political parties attended the discussion.

He further said that he gave one-month time to MPs to draw a consensus on how and in what manner the Madarsa Board was to be re-constituted.

"I said, tell me within one month how and in what manner this is to be re-constituted? What procedures the government should adopt so that the entire Muslim community is taken into confidence," he said.

The HRD Ministry has prepared a bill under which the structure of religious education would be brought on a par with the modern education system.

The Ministry also proposed a Central Madrasa Board Bill 2009 under which the structure of Muslim religious education would be brought on a par with the modern education system.

The move to set up a Central Madarsa Board was initiated following the National Commission for Minorities Educations recommendation made in April 2007. (ANI)