With this latest initiative, West Bengal has become the first state where the IT major has been engaged in improving the quality of education in madrasas.

The IT firm is already engaged in running a programme in various schools across the country to improve the quality of teaching and empowerment of students.

A division of the IT major — Wipro Applying Thought in Schools — which is running the programme, has hired different NGOs to run it in different states. In the state, it has roped in Vikramshila Education Resource Society (VERS), an NGO that works in the field of education, for this purpose. Wipro has, however, stationed one of its officials in Kolkata to monitor the programme. “We are running this programme in other states as well but it is in only West Bengal that we are doing it for madrasas. It is a challenge for us, as the madrasa is one area which requires a lot of improvement,” Kanupriya Chatterjee, a representative of Wipro, told The Indian Express.

In the first phase of the programme that started from June 11 students of Class V in 10 madrasas across the state are being taught three subjects — Bangla, English and mathematics.

“In other states, Wipro is running the programme at both primary and Madhyamik schools. But here since we are working for madrasas only, we have focused on Class V students because we have seen that the standard of these students — particularly as far as their knowledge in languages and mathematics is concerned — is appalling. From June 11, for five days students of Class V of these madrasas will learn only Bengali for five hours every day,” Shubhra Chatterjee, director of VERS, told The Indian Express.

“It is not the traditional method of teaching textbooks and grammar. It is what we call ‘immersion courses.’ For the next five days, in the same way they will learn English, which will be followed by another five days training in mathematics,” Chatterjee added. The government plans to cover all its 508 madrasas with this programme. “Madrasas in West Bengal are the best in the country. Our budget for this department —Rs 319 crore this year — is the highest in the country. We are happy that Wipro has chipped in with its expertise to improve our madrasas,” said Abdus Sattar, minister of state for minority development.

When the The Indian Express team visited Akra Girls High Madrasa, in South 24 Parganas district, which is covered by the programme, it found that the students were enjoying the new initiative.

“School time is now great fun. I am learning so many things without any effort,” said Tabasum Khatun, a student of Class V at the madrasa.

It is not merely learning the basics of Bengali language — learning words, making small sentences, etc — through models and other tools that has excited the students, activities like quiz competition, recitation, plays, even singing

Rabindrasangeet together have generated a great

interest among the students for the course.

“Our aim is not only to improve the quality of teaching, our purpose is also to enhance the students’ capability of imbibing what we teach. And after the programme is over we will make a gradation of students according to their merit and prospect of improving and the students lagging behind will be specially taken care of,” said Babita Dutta Majumder, VERS representative at Akra madrasa.

While the VERS has sent five academic support personnel, the madrasa has placed three of its teachers for the project.

And the madrasa authorities as well as the students are all praise for this unique teaching method.