It’s called Brainy Stars and it’s a Montessori. With schools dotting Bangalore’s landscape by the dozen and new ones sprouting every other day, what’s new, you would say. For more than six months now, this Montessori in Jayanagar has been teaching 130 kids, all of them Muslims. Brainy Stars looks like any regular pre-school but prides itself in being the ‘first-of-its kind Islamic Montessori’ in India. It’s what they aim to do that’s different: The idea is to teach Muslim children to live in a pluralistic society alongside other religious groups.

Syed Tanveer Ahmed, executive director of the trust that runs the Montessori, says Brainy Stars can be compared to the traditional ‘gurukula’ system. “We employ traditional methods along with the concept of Montessori. Islamic ethical and moral values are integrated into teaching. Kids are made to understand how to live in a pluralistic society like India. Love for parents, family, neighbours and country is what we teach.”

The students, who range in ages from two and a half years to five years, are taken to temples and churches too. “The children have to learn there are other religions that they need to respect. They cannot have a sectarian mindset,” says Ahmed.

Apart from the regular Montessori syllabus, Arabic and Urdu are also taught. There is a uniform for the kids, and Friday is the traditional Islamic dress day. The little girls, however, don the hijab at all times.

Ahmed says compulsory parenting classes are another unique feature. “There are parents who think that once they pay hefty fees, they have shifted responsibility of the child to the school.” At Brainy Stars, which offers a three-year programme, grading or ranking is not done. “The system is child-centric rather than teacher-centric. A profile of each child, charting his/her capabilities, is prepared.”

Though there are ‘Islamic toys’ in some parts of the world, Brainy Stars says its focus is not religion. “Islamic toys are available in Malaysia and in the US. These are basically toys that teach about the Quran and the Arabic language. But our idea is to get our students to blend with everyone, while at the same time learn traditional values. Traditional dress is worn only on Fridays. Extremism never works. We want our children to lead a moderate life,” says Ahmed.

NOT JUST FOR MUSLIMS The brain behind Brainy Stars is entrepreneur D Hyder Vali, who is at the helm of Hyva IT Solutions Pvt and Stone Park Pvt Ltd. He started Brainy Stars after a visit to Malaysia where he saw a similar concept. After the success of the first Islamic Montessori in Jayanagar, a second one has come up in RT Nagar.

At Rs 30,000 per year plus Rs 5,000 for admission, the authorities at Brainy Stars claim they charge lower than other Montessories of similar standards where parents would have to shell out about Rs 10-15k more. However, the Montessori has attracted only Muslim parents till now. “The Montessori is open for everyone. However, so far no one from other religious groups has come forward. We would be very happy to have parents of all faiths sending their children here. We also reserve 20 per cent of the seats for children from poor families. In a way, we have implemented RTE ourselves.”

Ruling out the suggestion of madrassas or traditional schools, Ahmed says, the training at the pre-primary is geared toward admissions into CBSE or state board schools. “They can join any regular schools, but our training equips them to join Std I in CBSE schools.”

Meanwhile, it’s an all-Muslim faculty as well. But teacher-training is currently on, and the next batch of teachers will have a non-Muslim, say the authorities.

This report was first published in Bangalore mirror http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/cover-story/montessori-islamic-montessori-islamic-values-syed-tanveer-ahmedd-hyder-valimuslim-faculty/amp_articleshow/31684210.cms