Leap of faith: Jaipur madrassa turns school, gets an RSS-linked principal

JAIPUR: The Rehmani Model School, located in the narrow lanes of the Walled City area in Jaipur, is a model not just in its name. Having risen to a school from a madrassa where only religious texts were taught, it caters to the basic educational needs of 1,300 students of the minority community. Guiding them is the school principal Kailash Chandra Yadav, who was previously affiliated to the RSS's Aadarsh Vidhya Mandir.

The structure in the congested lanes of Ramganj, a minority-dominated area, now stands tall as an example of communal harmony. All the students of the school are Muslims. Several of them belong to lower-middle class families. The school board too comprises Muslim members but several of its teachers are Hindus. Of the 63 teachers, nine including the principal are Hindus. The school had its first non-Muslim teacher in 1995 while Yadav is its first non-Muslim principal.

The principal, who now sees his job as a challenge to inspire and urge the not-so-keen parents to send their wards to school, admits he began on an apprehensive note three years ago. "Having worked in Aadarsh Vidhya Mandir, it seemed almost weird to work for a Muslim school, located in a Muslim locality. However, that feeling passed soon. Stu dents are students irrespective of their religion and education is important for all. I am glad to be helping students who come from a community who do not always get these facilities," said Yadav.

Yadav and the teachers ha ve a much larger task at hand than just teaching. "Financial condition of some students is so bad that the parents stop sending them. In other cases, the parents have to be convinced to send their children as they think education is not important. As teachers, we approach the parents and try to do all that we can," he said.

Abdul Qayyum Akhtar, head of Rehmani Welfare Society , admits that people in his community are not eager to educate their children. On the non-Muslim teachers, he says, "To me their educational qualification matters, not their affiliations or their religion."