Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – All activities of Urdu academies at three national universities – Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) have come to a halt after they were not allocated any budget for teachers’ training and any other activities in the last eight years.
“I was the director at the academy between 2016 and 2020. During my tenure, the academy was not given any budget. For the last eight years, the budget was not given. As a result of which, all activities were shut down. Urdu teachers are not getting training. It is creating a hindrance in the development of Urdu. The development of the language should not be stopped,” Dr Rahat Abrar, former director of Urdu Academy at AMU, was quoted by Hindi daily Amar Ujala as saying.
In 2006, three Centres for Professional Development of Urdu Teachers also described as Urdu Academy were sanctioned by the University Grants Commission (UGC) at New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, and Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad for the promotion of Urdu language and uplift the standard of Urdu and Urdu medium teaching in the country.
The jurisdiction of each of these centres has also been fixed. The Centre at JMI has the responsibility of Urdu medium schools including madrasas and those schools where Urdu is taught as the first, second & third language, in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh. The centre at AMU has the responsibility for Urdu medium schools including madrasas and those schools where Urdu is taught as the first, second and third language, in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa. Similarly, the MANUU has the responsibility for South Indian Urdu schools.
These centres used to hold training programmes for Urdu teachers for 15 days. They were managing the board and lodging expenses of these teachers. When the budget was not allocated to them, they continued holding training programme for some time. Later, they were forced to close it down due to the funds crunch.
According to Prof Ghaznafar, former director of JMI’s Urdu Academy, when the centres were started, they were allocated Rs 4 crore. This fund was used between 2006 and 2008. Since then, no funds have been given to them.
Talking about the lack of budget for the Urdu academy, Prof Mohsin, Finance Officer at AMU, said the UGC runs several schemes. The duration of these schemes is determined. Most of the teacher training programmes are only for five years. Then, they are shut down. Most of the programmes of the advanced study centres are only for five years. They are closed now. “We are collecting information related to the Urdu academies,” he said.
