Latest news with #SamasthaKeralaMadrasaManagementAssociation
The Hindu
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Additional school hours: Samastha to offer practical suggestions during talks with govt.
Sunni scholars' forum Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama and its affiliate organisations have said they will offer practical suggestions related to the additional instructional hours being implemented in State syllabus schools. This was decided at a meeting held here on Tuesday. The Samastha had opposed the additional working hours for Classes VIII to X, 15 minutes each in the morning and afternoon on all days except Fridays, saying it would affect students who attend 'madrasa' classes early in the morning. Its leaders told the media on Tuesday that if there was no positive response to their suggestions during the proposed talks with Education department officials, protests would be intensified against the government. The Samastha functionaries pointed out that there had been no response to a memorandum submitted by the organisation ahead of the implementation of the new timings. No talks were held either. The Samastha Kerala Madrasa Management Association subsequently declared that it would hold protests against the government across the State. However, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty spoke to Samastha president Syed Mohammed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal over phone on July 14 and expressed the government's willingness to hold talks on the issue. M.T. Abdulla Musliyar, general secretary, Samastha Islam Religious Education Board, said that practical suggestions would be put forward during the talks. 'If there is no positive response, all Samastha-affiliated organisations will jointly organise intensified protests. There is no going back on this. The government should take the people into confidence while taking decisions. Religion is a form of education and vice-versa. Religious education is a crucial component of Islam, it cannot be set aside,' he said. The new timings were implemented to realise the target of 220 working days and 1,100 instructional hours for Class VIII as per the Right to Education Act and for Classes IX and X as per the Kerala Education Rules. Samastha secretary Umar Faizy Mukkom, central 'mushawara' member Bahauddin Nadwi, among others, were present at the press meet.
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Samastha affiliate plans stir against additional school hours in Kerala
The Samastha Kerala Madrasa Management Association (SKMMA), an affiliate organisation of the Sunni scholars' forum Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama which runs madrasas, has announced that it will launch an agitation against the Left Democratic Front government's 'unilateral' decision to increase the working hours of aided, government, and recognised unaided schools that follow State syllabus. Association office-bearers told the media here on Tuesday that the future course of action would be declared at a public convention to be held at the Kozhikode Town Hall at 10 a.m. on July 10. The working hours for Classes VIII to X in these schools have been increased by 30 minutes in total — 15 minutes each in the morning and afternoon — on all days except Fridays. This is to realise the target of 220 working days and 1,100 instructional hours for Class VIII as per the Right to Education Act and for Classes IX and X as per the Kerala Education Rules. Moideen Faizy Puthanazhi, general secretary, SKMMA, claimed that the additional working hours would affect the functioning of the madrasas, which run their classes for two-and-a-half hours in the morning from 6.30 a.m. or 7 a.m. High school students who attend madrasa classes would find it difficult to reach their schools on time, he claimed. Mr. Puthanazhi alleged that though the Samastha functionaries, including its president Syed Mohammed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan soon after the government expressed its intention to increase the working hours in schools, their concerns were ignored. 'Government officials are claiming that the additional hours are only for high school students. However, many government schools in Kerala have upper primary and lower primary sections as well. Their classes start at the same time. So, the justification is not acceptable,' he said. Asked if they had any alternatives to suggest, K. Moyinkutty, manager, SKMMA, said that the government should first call them for talks. 'They can think of utilising Saturdays as working days or use some days during the two-month vacation period as working days,' he added.
