The Uttar Pradesh government is undertaking a pilot project and introducing teaching modules of artificial intelligence in madrasas to train students in modern technology and align the institutions with mainstream educational developments, state Minister Danish Azad Ansari said on Sunday (October 15).
Reacting to the move, an organisation of madrasa teachers said that the government will have to make necessary arrangements like providing human resource in schools if it is serious about taking the project forward.
“The government has taken a unique initiative to give information about very promising future technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to children studying in madrasas. Under this, a special campaign was started on October 4,” Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Welfare Ansari said.
The government has launched a website ‘www.teamupai.org’ on which information regarding AI, its impact on human life in the future and employment opportunities are shared, the Minister said.
He said that the children studying in madrasas are being taught AI through well-organised modules.
“Through the website, modules related to AI are taught every day by connecting with an expert. The link is sent to about 16,000 madrasas of the state. The classes are live telecast at these schools through the link,” he added.
As many as 16,513 madrasas are recognised in Uttar Pradesh out of which 560 are given government grants.
New teachers' appointment for AI training?
When asked if there will be appointment of separate teachers to teach AI in madrasas, Ansari said that a training programme was recently organised for teachers in madrasas in which they were explained in detail about various aspects of AI.
“In the future, with the help of the website and these teachers, this programme will be taken further in madrasas. Right now, this programme has been started as a pilot project. It will be given a better shape in the future,” he added.
Asked whether AI education is being given only in recognised madrasas of the state, Ansari said that it is an online platform and any madrasa can access this and impart training in AI to its students.
He underlined the BJP government’s efforts to bring Muslims into the mainstream and said that the government is connecting them with education, as part of which AI training is being provided to them.
“AI is a field in which crores of employment opportunities will be created in the coming years. If madrasa students have knowledge about this cutting-edge technology, a huge vista of better employment will open before them,” he said.
Madrasa body reacts
The Teachers' Association Madaris Arabiya Uttar Pradesh said that if the state government wants to implement this scheme effectively, then it will have to improve the basic infrastructure required for this in madrasas.
“It is good that the state government wants to impart training in modern technology like AI, but if this work has to be taken forward seriously then it should make necessary arrangements in madrasas,” General Secretary of the organisation, Diwan Saheb Zaman Khan said.
He suggested the government to maintain constant communication with representatives of madrasas.
He said that there are many such madrasas in the state where the government has provided computers but there are no operators to run them and experts will be required to teach AI.
(With PTI inputs)
