By Danish Reyaz | Maeeshat | Mumbai

Bidar in north-eastern Karnataka is a historical city with a glorious past. Known also as the city of ‘Historical Monuments,’ it has a dazzling array of magnificent forts, towers, tombs, mosques, and several other beautiful structures, bearing testimony to the golden days the city once witnessed in the annals of history.

The Mahmud Gawan Madrasa, in particular, albeit in its ruins, reminds us of the educational glory of Bidar in the past. Built in the late 15th century by the prime minister of the Bahmani Empire, Mahmud Gawan, the madrasa was heavily inspired by the famous Khurasan Madrasa in Iran and Samarkand Madrasa in Uzbekistan. Like those eminent educational institutions, the Mahmud Gawan Madrasa also attracted students, teachers, and scholars from far-off foreign lands, putting Bidar on the world’s education map. 

Once a bustling hub for education, the Gawan Madrasa, however, went into ruins due to the ravages of time amidst a series of historical events taking place in between. Consequently, Bidar also lost its sheen in education, to the extent of getting reduced to one of Karnataka’s most educationally backward districts over the years. 

However, Bidar is now on an education resurgence thanks to the Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions seemingly filling in the gap of Gawan Madrasa to a good extent.

The Shaheen Group of Institutions is founded by Dr. Abdul Qadeer, a civil engineer and a visionary edupreneur from Bidar. He has taken the group from strength to strength and is tirelessly playing a pivotal role in transforming minority education in his home city, state, and elsewhere in the country.  

His endeavour started with just 17 students in 1989 has spawned an education revolution providing thousands of students, including NRI students, with a world-class education. From the cramped space of Dr. Qadeer’s home, where he taught his first batch of students, it now boasts a grand campus in Bidar and more than 60 branches spread across different parts of the country.

More importantly, the model of education Dr. Qadeer has developed effectively bridges the gap between Islamic religious teaching and modern education, thus helping students acquire moral and ethical values and grow into better humans and citizens of the country simultaneously.  

The Genesis of the Idea

With his relentless zeal and constant hard work Dr. Qadeer has expanded the horizon of education in Bidar. But how did he think of this idea in the first place? He narrates an interesting story behind this.

He says that he dreamed of sending his younger brother to a top school, but Bidar had no such school at that time. Consequently, he got him admitted to Darool-ul-Huda, quite a reputed residential school in Hyderabad. But just after three days, his brother returned and kept feigning illness so as not to go back to school.

The real reason behind his unwillingness to join was his inability to grasp his subjects. Dr. Qadeer tried his best, but much to his disappointment, his stubborn brother dropped out of school.

The incident forced Dr. Qadeer to think if a student like his brother, despite all the facilities and support, can leave school, the situation could be worse for students who are not fortunate enough to have financial backing and a support system.

Affected by his brother dropping out, Dr. Qadeer swore to himself that he would start a school so that no student, especially from a poor background, would ever have to drop out following any learning difficulty or economic hardship.

Dr. Qadeer says, “Throughout my long experience, I have come to realise that financial constraints play a minor role in cases of school dropout. Instead, it is the learning challenges faced by students that contribute significantly to this problem.”

So, when Dr. Qadeer started his journey from a half-complete room in his house, teaching a mere handful of students, mostly the children of his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, he made sure to give special attention to every student.   

He says, “Knowing that every student has a different level of understanding ability, I focused on calibrating my pace and teaching approach so that every student can easily comprehend their lessons.” 

Dr. Qadeer, right from the beginning, was wholeheartedly dedicated to his students’ learning. He funnily recalls, “I was so engrossed in setting up the furniture for my students’ comfort that I completely forgot to arrange a chair and table for myself. For days, I continued teaching them, standing on my feet with no lack of enthusiasm at all.”   

Facing Indifference and Criticism

For a civil engineer to start an L.K.G school, that too in Urdu medium, was a little baffling for people to digest. It also went against the trend of English medium schools catching on those days.

He clarifies, “My firm belief is that if students are taken care of well enough, the medium of instruction becomes immaterial. On the other, I also didn’t have the means to start an English medium school in the early stage of my endeavour.” 

His parents, friends, and relatives, including his in-laws, didn’t approve of his idea and wanted him to concentrate on building a career in engineering. But Dr. Qadeer had already made up his mind.

Initially. locals were indifferent to sending their children to his school with a fee of Rs. 25, which they felt was high. They said the fee would have been justified had it been an English medium school.

Facing parents’ reluctance, Dr. Qadeer approached his friends and relatives, who somehow relented to sending their children to his school, believing that he would give up on his dream in a few months, following which they would later enroll their children in other schools. Little did they realise that Dr. Qadeer had no such plan to give up but was determined to make it work.

Dr. Qadeer started teaching this handful of students, putting all his heart and soul into it. His methods were bearing fruit as the students showed promising signs of improvement. Gradually, students started to increase, and so he wanted to shift his school to a rented building for a larger space.

He found a building with Rs 300 monthly rental. But the landlord was not amused by his idea of running an Urdu medium school, so he put a rider asking for a three-month advance. It gave Dr. Qadeer some sleepless nights because he didn’t have money to give in advance.  

“However, I was fully determined,” Dr. Qadeer says, “Despite the difficulty, I could arrange the necessary advance, and I began to run the school of my dream with great effort and full dedication.” 

A Short Hiatus From School

Life is not the same every time. Just a year after starting the school, Dr. Qadeer’s family faced an inescapable financial crisis, compelling him to seek a job in Gulf as an engineer.

He recounts that before going to the Gulf, he went to Maulana Sajjad Nadwi to take his leave, with whom he had consulted while opening his school earlier. To his surprise, Maulana severely admonished him, accusing him of running away from the responsibility of the school.

Dr. Qadeer assured him that his brother and sister would oversee the school in his absence. To which Maulana said, “But your brother and sister can’t have the same vision as yours to run the school.”   

Maulana’s observation struck a chord with Dr. Qadeer. He promised Maulana that he would return to resume his dream as soon as he stabilised his family’s financial issues. 

A Hospital Dream Also Begins to Emerge 

Dr. Qadeer was employed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he worked hard and bid his time to return once he had solved the money-related issues back home.

While abroad, he was planning how to grow his school; simultaneously, he was planning to start a hospital in Bidar, which awfully lacked good doctors during that time.

“Back then, in old Bidar, our community only had three doctors, and none were female. After consulting with friends and elders in the community, I came up with the idea to set up a hospital to address this shortage,” says Dr. Qadeer.

The Homecoming and Efforts for the Hospital

In Riyadh, Dr. Qadeer was earning good money and could have become rich if he had stayed there for long, but he always kept sight of his dream. After putting his household’s financial instability back on track within two years, he returned to India in early 1993. 

After returning home, Dr. Qadeer quickly set out on his mission to open a hospital for which he started meeting doctors in Hyderabad. Unfortunately, most of the good doctors were unwilling to come to Bidar. So, despite his best efforts, his plan to open a hospital fell through before it could begin.

This moment marked a turning point in his life. Faced with the inability to establish a hospital, he now vowed to train students to make them future doctors through his school. His commitment to providing quality education now had a clear purpose: to help students become doctors.  

Focusing Back on School

After the hospital dream did not materialise, Dr. Qadeer put back his entire focus on his school to elevate its standard to produce well-prepared students capable of excelling in medical entrance examinations and ultimately becoming good doctors.

The first thing he did was to relocate his school to the new building he had rented for the intended hospital at Rs. 3,000 a month, which was a substantial amount at that time. He made this investment to provide a better environment for his students.

Dr. Qadeer’s commitment to quality education paid off, with the school experiencing rapid growth. Within a short period, it expanded from a single building to seven. This expansion brought new challenges for Dr. Qadeer, including managing the demands and whims of the building owners. 

Mr. Qadeer says, “Every now and then, some disputes would arise with the building owners. While some would raise the demand of increasing the rent, others would raise objections on several people visiting the school and so on.”

Troubled by these headaches, Mr. Qadeer decided to shift his school to a single, larger building so that he would only have to deal with a single landlord and also simplify its operational process.

Mr. Qadeer approached his friend from Riyadh, who had purchased a large building in Bidar and happened to visit the city at that time. He asked if the building could be rented out for the school, but his friend disheartened him by declining in favour of someone else who had recently started an English medium school in Bidar.

Let down by his friend, Mr. Qadeer resolved not to rely on renting a private building anymore; instead, he would make efforts to build his own school premises. 

He bought a plot in old Bidar and then two more adjacent plots where two years later, he established 12 classrooms for students up to 10th standard. As the school’s popularity continued to grow, it required further expansion. Gradually, Mr. Qadeer purchased up to 15 plots on the same site and erected a magnificent building, now referred to as the Shaheen Group’s old campus, overlooking the historic Mahmud Gawan Madrasa.    

Despite numerous hurdles and challenges, Shaheen’s steady growth evidences Dr. Qadeer’s unyielding passion and firm belief in his vision. Under his stewardship, the school has grown in stature, emerging as a prominent educational institution in the region, attracting more and more students every year. 

Thrust on Moral Teaching

Modern education provides us with knowledge, skill, and tools to succeed. But it is not all. Developing moral and ethical values is as important to shaping students into becoming responsible and well-rounded individuals. It is observed that individuals with strong moral fibre significantly contribute to their communities and, for that matter, to the entire society.

A strong proponent of moral values, Dr. Qadeer, since the beginning of the school, has integrated moral and religious education into the school curriculum. He says, “My emphasis is on building the career of a student as well as their character. The latter can be achieved only through moral education.”

Dr. Qadeer believes moral education should be provided at the school level alongside modern education so that students don’t have to go elsewhere for it and spend their valuable time and energy,  hampering their education at school. And the sooner it starts, the better it is. 

At Shaheen, from the LKG itself, students start learning the Qaida, and from the second standard, they start Nazra-e-Quran (reading of the Quran). The school also has a Shoba-e-Hifz program dealing with memorisation of the Holy Quran. After passing the second standard, any student can enroll for it.

In this programme, students devote 80% of their time to Hifz and 20% to mathematics, languages, and other subjects. Putting in rigorous hard work, the students become Hafiz (one who fully memorises the Holy Quran) by the time they complete the fifth standard. And after that, they resume their education in a full-fledged way. Most of them become doctors and engineers, thus getting the best of both worlds. 

“By providing religious and moral education, we instill the early understanding of values, ethics, and social norms among students and help them grow holistically as far as their personal and social development is concerned,” says Dr. Qadeer.

First Foray Into Coaching

With the school doing very well, suggestions to start a college came from many quarters, but Dr. Qadeer couldn’t think of a college at that time due to financial challenges.

However, the fact that after all their hard work, the students leaving the school were falling into the wrong hands of institutions that didn’t have the same passion for guiding them forced Dr. Qadeer to think of a solution to this problem.  

He says, “We decided to take matters into our hands. We began coaching these students for competitive exams to enable them to have a career in life.”

Despite the success of the new initiative, they had to stop it after a while, facing opposition from those who held a monopoly in running coaching centres. These individuals created various obstacles for the team, leading them to call it quits; however, little they knew that Shaheen would one day completely revolutionise how coaching is provided to students. 

Establishing the First College       

Dr. Qadeer was concerned about his 10th-passed students not getting into the right colleges and his own inability to run coaching classes for them. Mustering courage, he applied for a junior college and was fortunately granted permission. It was a bold decision, as arranging funds to run the college was a challenge, but Dr. Qadeer was determined to make it a success for the sake of his students’ future.   

The college was named Shaheen PU College. Shaheen’s success in its previous coaching venture had created a buzz in the city, which encouraged students to enroll in good numbers.

Thankfully, the college made a notable impact right from the beginning as the students did well both in higher secondary and competitive exams due to its thoughtfully designed integrated curriculum.

According to Dr. Qadeer, the first batch itself started on a positive note, with some of the students cracking CEET exams. And when Bidar Medical College was established three years later, as many as 12 students from our college managed to secure a seat in it.  

“This highlighted our academic excellence and reassured our belief to establish the college that it was a step in the right direction,” says Dr. Qadeer, “Today, Shaheen PU College is successfully preparing aspirants for NEET, CEET, IIT, and other exams.” 

From a single college, Shaheen has expanded into a big campus in Bidar and a cluster of educational institutions named Shaheen Group of Institutions across the country. The successful educational model, such as distraction-free and gender-segregated education that the Group follows all over India has their roots in Shaheen PU College. 

Distraction-Free Environment for Focussed Learning

Distractions can negatively impact students, especially till the class 12th in their impressionable years. While there are various types of distractions, the internet and social media are the prime culprits in taking away students’ focus and killing their valuable time.

Dr. Qadeer says, “We have made sure that our students don’t use mobile, bikes, or cars on the campus, and fully focus on their studies.” 

The Bidar campus and its franchise across the country have banned mobile phones and automobiles till the 12th standard, reasoning that these things decrease focus and concentration and promote unnecessary showiness among students. Not only do they contribute to reducing learning efficiency, but they also interfere with the development of important skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management.

Also, the Shaheen Group of Institutions doesn’t favour co-education as it believes that students in their growing up years tend to get attracted towards the opposite sex, which can impact their ability to concentrate and learn effectively. Also, it believes girls and boys have different learning styles, so it is best when they are taught in a single-sex educational environment.

Dr. Qadeer says, “I am not against co-education as such, but at least until 12th standard, as these are critically important years in any student’s life, boys and girls should be educated separately. There is evidence that such an arrangement helps students concentrate more and not mess up their future.”

To enable students to have a total distraction-free environment Shaheen Group of Institutions prefers residential education system. The safe, separate, and supervised hostel lives for both girls and boys allow them to fully immerse themselves in their studies. 

Doing Away With the Tuition Culture   

The Indian Education system is heavily affected by the tuition culture that has spread like wildfire in the last few decades. It reflects poorly on our school education as the students seek to take additional classes outside school hours to fully comprehend their lessons.

In this regard, Dr. Qadeer has taken a bold step by putting an end to this practice from the very beginning, considering it an insult to the reputation of his school and the dedication of its teachers. He says, “We felt our hard work towards students were meaningless if they sought outside help.”

He further says that since we take complete ownership of the educational needs of students, it is not justifiable to delegate it to outside tutors. Moreover, why should parents incur additional expenses for tuition when they have entrusted us with the education of their children?

He also highlights that the practice of tuition perpetuates social and economic inequality, as only those who are financially sound can afford it, leaving students from economically weaker backgrounds at a disadvantage.

Dr. Qadeer emphasises, “Not a single student amongst 20,000 enrolled in the Shaheen Group of Institutions takes tuition.” On a positive note, catching on to this trend started by Dr. Qadeer, other educational institutions have also followed suit, resulting in Bidar becoming a tuition-free district in Karnataka.

Academic Intensive Care Unit (AICU): A Pathbreaking Initiative

After discontinuing tuition services, Dr. Qadeer led his team in intensifying their efforts to support students in achieving their goals. Nonetheless, there were concerns about some students who were struggling and required additional assistance. Dr. Qadeer faced the challenge of helping these students catch up with their peers.

To address this challenge, the concept of the Academic Intensive Care Unit (AICU) was born. This specially designed program offers tailored, intensive support to students who are falling behind or have dropped out of school.

According to Dr. Qadeer, the process starts with daily and weekly assessments to identify students needing additional help. These students are then shifted to the AICU department, where special teachers (in a 6:1 pupil-to-teacher ratio) teach them to strengthen their foundation in mathematics and languages.

Once the students achieve parity with other students, they are sent back to their respective classes, where their performance starts showing marked improvement. Dr. Qadeer says, “As the AICU idea was successful, we then aimed to expand it further to provide assistance to more and more students in need.”

Empowering Dropouts Through AICU

Unlike other educational institutions, which admit only bright students, Shaheen keeps its doors open for students from poor backgrounds and those who have dropped out of school for various reasons as part of its social commitment.

Teaching dropout students is particularly challenging due to the gap in their learning experience and diminished motivation. They not only need their interest to be rekindled but also require a supportive and inclusive environment to learn. In this regard, the AICU arrangement comes to their rescue. 

In AICU, the teachers build their confidence by correcting their basics in mathematics and languages so they can grasp their lessons clearly and give out better performances.

According to Dr. Qadeer, there are more instances of students dropping out during their eighth and ninth grades. When these students come to us, we keep them in AICU until they regain their confidence and ability to comprehend their coursework. Afterwards, we send them to the 10th grade, where they usually perform impressively and eventually go on to become doctors, engineers, or work in administration.

Dr. Qadeer speaks with pride and satisfaction as he recounts the remarkable transformation of these students who once had lost all hope after dropping out of school. These students have now been able to turn their lives around and attain remarkable success.

Empowering Huffaz Through Hifzul Quran Plus

While modern education is changing people’s lives all around, there are students of madrasas who are forced to live a life mired in poverty even after passing from these religious seminaries. Despite dedicating their formative years to a diligent study of the Quran, they fail to advance in life because of a lack of modern education.

Dr. Qadeer was moved by the plight of these students and felt a strong urge to help them break free from their circumstances and lead a life of pride and respect. He thought if the dropouts and weak students have benefited from the AICU programme, it could also be extended to Huffaz (plural of Hafiz), though with some extra modifications.

According to Dr. Qadeer, a Hafiz who memorises the vast Quran is a very hardworking person with a strong memory power. Therefore, with proper guidance in modern education, they can also transform their lives.  

He says, “Based on AICU, a four-year Hifzul Quran Plus programme was devised keeping in mind the greater need of Huffaz, who hardly get a chance to go to a school in their lives. So, it was a start from scratch kind of thing.” 

Huffaz undergo a six-month foundation programme at AICU to strengthen their basic understanding of mathematics and languages, followed by another six months to acquaint themselves with the terminologies related to science and social studies. 

They then join regular students in 10th, 11th, and 12th classes and perform on par with their peers, demonstrating great dedication and impressive ability to adapt to mainstream education.

During their higher secondary education, these hardworking students receive integrated CET and NEET coaching and consistently astound others by securing medical seats both at the state and national levels.

In fact, the first batch of Hifzul Quran Plus completed the four-year programme only in three years, exemplifying their ability and commitment. Dr. Qadeer cites the example of Abu Sufyan, a Hafiz from Hyderabad, who had never been to any school, secured a government medical seat from the first batch itself through his sheer determination and ability.

Dr. Qadeer says, “His accomplishment served as a validation and reward of our dream for these students who could have otherwise lagged behind in life lacking modern education.”

Like Abu Sufyan, there are many more examples of success that Dr. Qadeer goes on naming who might have slipped through the cracks or would have no choice but to become an Imam in any mosque. Then again, there are not enough mosques to employ these Huffaz, so most of them would have to fend for themselves with petty jobs or tiny businesses.

At present, about 600 students from madrasa background are at the Bidar residential campus, working hard in their quest to change their lives through Hifzul Quran Plus. So far, hundreds of madrasa students have cleared NEET exams, including 12 of them last year.

Extending Hifzul Quran Plus Initiative to National Level  

The success of Hifzful Quran Plus has sparked a new ray of hope among community leaders and Ulema-e-Din (religious scholars) to bridge the gap between Quranic studies and modern education and create a pathway of success for the new generation of Huffaz.

For the pathbreaking initiative, Dr. Qadeer has come for praise from all quarters. Maulana Hazrat Nomani, a towering religious thinker and activist, has called for the spread of Hifzul Quran Plus across the nation and worldwide.

Dr. Qadeer says, “More than 30 centres nationwide have adopted the Hifzul Quran Plus program with remarkable results. More and more centres are likely to embrace it in the coming years.”

Aalim Plus: Empowering Ulema for Careers in Law

Besides a large number of Huffaz, Madrasas also produce a significant number of Ulema (graduates in Islamic theology) who also meet the same fate as the formers: mostly spend their lives in scarcity and end up doing petty jobs to run their families despite having intellect and merit but not the modern education. They also need help to escape their difficult circumstances.

Inspired by the Hifzul Quran Plus model Maulana Khalid Saifulla Rahmani, an eminent religious figure among Muslims, suggested Dr. Qadeer the idea of Aalim (singular of Ulema) Plus program to prepare them in the field of law.

The idea was worth translating into reality since Ulema are experts in Islamic jurisprudence who can be fit to study the laws of the land and eventually become lawyers, judges, and law professionals, which would enable them to lead a reputable life. 

Dr. Qadeer says Aalim Plus started three years ago with only nine students, and today five of them have been pursuing their degrees at different law colleges and universities. Since they are mostly poor, we also provide them with a monthly stipend of five thousand rupees. Moreover, we intend to help them with an allowance of ten thousand rupees per month for two years while they practice under any senior lawyer after graduating from their university. 

The Aalim Plus programme is relatively new, and Dr. Qadeer is committed to proliferating it in the future as he did with Hifzul Quran Plus. Nevertheless, there is another flagship programme from Shaheen that is already making waves is Madrasa Plus for its broader reach, accessibility, and inclusivity.

Madrasa Plus: A New Mass-Level Programme for Madrasa Students

The Hifzul Quran Plus and Aalim Plus programmes have been established as exceptionally promising initiatives, elevating the status of madrasa students and giving them a fresh start to actively contribute to society through contemporary education.

Complementing these programmes Dr. Qadeer has come up with a new programme, “Madaras Plus” that has garnered attention of academicians, educators, and the prominent figures in Ulema for its potential in paving the way for madrasa students in modern world.

Dr. Qadeer says, “The Madrasa Plus programme serves as a crucial intermediary step for madrasa students to be introduced to modern education. It aims to assist them in successfully completing their matriculation, which marks the first milestone on their path to pursuing higher education and establishing a career.”

Madrasa Plus has become operational in 60 centres (mostly madrasas) across the country in May this year as a collaborative programme for which Shaheen provides its own trained teachers to these centres where Huffaz and Alims are accommodated and receive quality modern education.

For this programme, the eligible students among both pass-outs and dropouts are contacted and identified by the centres concerned through social media campaign and other means. 

The programme’s duration is 18 months and is divided into three stages: the basic level where students learn basic mathematics and regional languages for three months; the preparatory level where students learn science and social science terminologies for another three months; and Class X stage where students are taught tenth class NIOS syllabus for a year. 

Aligned with this programme, Ulema who haven’t passed their matriculation have a separate centre in Srirangapatnam, Karnataka. Meanwhile, those, including Huffaz, who have already completed their 10th, 12th, and graduation, have 200 seats earmarked for them at the Head Office of the Shaheen Group of Institutions in Bidar.

Additionally, girls who are Hafiza, Aalima, or have completed other Deeniyat courses have separate and exclusive arrangements at six madrasas in different cities, including Lucknow, Saharanpur, Kisanganj, etc.

“I have full confidence and faith that the Madrasa Plus program is going to succeed, and if it does, it will bring about a revolution in madrasa education,” says Dr. Qadeer. “Initially, we are selecting only top madrasas, but upon its success, this program will also be extended to smaller madrasas. Eventually, there will come a time when every madrasa student, in addition to their Islamic education, will have acquired modern education.”    

Reaching Out to Madrasa Students 

They key for all these programmes to succeed is that the information about these initiatives reaches all the madrasa students who are scattered throughout the country.

Dr. Qadeer says, “The awareness level among Huffaz and Ulema about these programmes is very low. We have been trying to send out the message to every student passing or dropping out from madrasas across India that these programmes exist, which can potentially change their lives forever.”

In this regard, efforts have been bearing fruit as well, as each year, more madrasa students from states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh are turning up at Bidar. However, more need to be done. Dr. Qadeer says, “We need the help of our alumnae, common people, religious leaders, and the press and media to spread our message.” 

Meanwhile, Dr. Qadeer praises the local madrasas, which successfully conducted a reaching out programme through social media and other possible means for the students who had passed out or dropped out and stayed so far in the dark about their future. He says, “If not for them, the Madrasa Plus Programme would not have started in a record time.”

Evidently, madrasa students have been the target of communal propaganda in recent times. It is necessary to show the world the true story of the madrasa’s pass-outs who are equally rightminded, patriotic, and competent as anybody else, and can make valuable contributions to the country if provided with proper guidance and opportunities. Fortunately, Dr. Qadeer, with his various programmes, has paved the way for taking the initiative in this direction.  

Broadening Coaching Expertise

Shaheen has expertise in medical entrance exams with an astounding success rate. So far, it has enabled about 3,400 students to obtain government medical seats, with hundreds of students every year achieving this feat from the Bidar centre alone. This year about 430 students from the centre have been able to claim government medical seats.

Shaheen’s Bidar centre is arguably the best across India, consistently producing such exceptional results year after year. Dr. Qadeer says, “Shaheen students have a significant representation in free government medical seats, holding about 1% nationwide and 14% in Karnataka state.”  

While Shaheen’s medical entrance exam preparation expertise has helped countless students pursue their dreams as doctors, it has now expanded its expertise into coaching for engineering and civil services exams. This diversification of coaching facilities has also made it easier for students to pursue their dreams in a wider range of fields.

Shaheen, with its highly experienced faculty and a personalised approach to learning, is helping the aspirants of IIT, JEE, UPSC, KPSC, etc., realise their full potential and make their dreams come true.

Shaheen’s success in the medical field is a testament to its commitment to excellence, and its foray into engineering and civil services coaching is sure to be equally successful. In fact, the success stories in these fields have started coming through already in a short time. 

A Right Approach for Attaining Success  

The academic success of the Shaheen Group of Institutions has been commendable, and each year, it is breaking new ground. There are several reasons behind the success of its students.

Dr. Qadeer says that Shaheen’s teaching philosophy centres around maximising learning and retention for students by focusing on revision and practice.

He says they recommend following two hours of practicing and discussion for every hour of learning. Accordingly, their team provides five hours of coaching to ensure students have enough time for self-study, practice, and doubt clearance.

Dr. Qadeer emphasises the importance of regularly revising study material to reinforce learning. Students at Shaheen are required to revise whatever they learn the same day, the next day, and again after one week and one month.

He says, “Following our approach, students at Shaheen achieve optimal learning outcomes and are exceptionally well-prepared for tough exams and long-term success.”

Expanding Footprints of Shaheen  

Shaheen came into existence to make learning easy and scrutable enough for students from even lower backgrounds so that they develop a liking for it and don’t drop out in between. The whole emphasis was on completing their education with distinction and making them capable of carving out a leadership role for themselves in society.

On this journey, Shaheen has grown into a prestigious educational institution, excelling in turning students’ dreams into reality. It has gained the trust and reliance of not only the local community in Bidar and Karnataka but also students and parents from across India.

A whopping 20,000 students are studying in the Shaheen Group of Institutions that currently include nine schools, 42 preuniversity colleges, and a degree college; all spread in 14 states across the country. Students from 23 states as well as from seven Arab nations, are pursuing their dreams in these institutions.

Its core competency in medical entrance exams still remains the identifiable feature of Shaheen, but with time it has also been preparing students for engineering and other exams.

Besides science, Shaheen also has courses in Arts at the pre-university level. Alongside the regular 11th and 12th, the science stream colleges provide integrated NEET, JEE, and KVPY coaching, while the Arts stream colleges provide UPSC and CLAT coaching.         

“Not only quality education but also ascertaining students’ aptitude and accordingly giving them the direction for their excellence is our avowed goal,” says Dr. Qadeer, “And this process starts as early as 6th standard.”

Shaheen’s approach, strategy, modules, and programmes have inspired many individuals and institutions to emulate them. According to Dr. Qadeer, several delegations of different academicians, teachers, and administrators from schools, colleges, and madrasas from across the country regularly visit the Bidar campus to understand and replicate Shaheen’s initiatives at their level.  

Dr. Qadeer says, “We are more than welcoming for such delegations and extend our full co-operation by giving them academic support. We even provide a training programme for these teachers and send our senior administrators to guide and oversee the operation of these institutions for a few months, ensuring their efforts in replicating Shaheen’s initiatives are met with success.”

In addition, we have partnered full-time with several institutions that have adopted our educational initiatives, such as AICU and Hifzul Quran Plus, Madrasa Plus at their centres and serving the student community with unwavering responsibility and dedication.   

Concession and Support to Low-Income Students  

The Shaheen is based on an Edupreneurship model, but it has its social obligation uppermost in its priorities as it ensures that poor students who are meritorious are never turned away from its doorstep. 

We admit students who dropped out from other schools and colleges, believing it our duty to provide them with an opportunity to complete their education. Moreover, we use our expertise to help them catch up with their peers, compete with them, and achieve success so that they also make their life worthwhile.

Up to 20% of students at Shaheen receive either a 75% discount or a full scholarship, thus enabling economically disadvantaged students to continue their education. Similarly, madrasa students, who are predominantly poor, also have access to similar concessions or scholarships.

Dr. Qadeer informs, “Huffaz, who secured more than 350 marks in NEET last year, are being provided coaching at 12 centres of Shaheen Group of Institutions across the country free-of-cost in a residential setup to enable them to crack the exam next time and change their lives.”

He also informs that efforts are being made to extend full financial support towards the college fees of all the NEET-qualified Huffaz until they complete their MBBS.

In addition to all these scholarships, Shaheen has a CARES programme through which NGOs, charitable organisations, or community leaders at the mosque, temple, church, or mohalla level are requested to identify one or more meritorious students and refer them to Shaheen. They should arrange for only 40% of the educational expenses of these students. The rest of the 60% will be covered by Shaheen.

“The goal behind this programme is to involve the local people and community leaders in the process and instil in them a sense of responsibility towards the education of the needy,” says Dr. Qadeer.

Fostering Communal Harmony 

Shaheen aims to provide quality education with the protection of moral and cultural values. It has been working to instil moral rectitude, discipline, love, and affection towards fellow countrymen. The Bidar campus is the melting pot for students from different religions, castes, and backgrounds, with everybody amicably co-existing and competing with each other in an atmosphere of love and brotherhood. 

Inspired by its lofty ideals, non-Muslims have also been sending their wards to the Shaheen Group of Institutions. At present, about 50% students at Shaheen belong to other communities. 

Thanks to its secure, cultured environment, there has been a noticeable interest among non-Muslim parents in enrolling even their daughters at Shaheen. They are keen on doing this because they see it as an opportunity for their daughters to receive a high-quality education while also instilling in them a robust value system. 

Dr. Qadeer says, “We have created a culture of inclusivity, tolerance, and respect where students from diverse backgrounds, including caste and religion, feel safe, valued, and accepted wholeheartedly.”

He clarifies that Islamic religious teaching is exclusive to Muslim students, duly and strictly protecting the faiths and beliefs of other community students. 

Achievements and Awards

Dr. Qadeer tireless work in promoting education and his remarkable achievements have been recognised with several awards, including the prestigious Rajyotsava Award, the highest civilian award from the state of Karnataka in 2013 and state level Gowda Award for 2022 from Subhash Chandra Patil Memorial Janakalyana Trust.

Other notable awards that Dr. Qadeer has been honoured with include Gurukul Award (2004), District Level Rajyotsava Award (2008), Shikshana Ratna Prashasti from Chitradurga math (2011), Dr. Multaj Khan Award (2012) for communal harmony, Karnataka Urdu Academy Award (2012). In addition, he has also been awarded with Honorary Doctorate Degree by the Gulbarga University in 2015.

These multiple awards from varied organisations are testament to his steadfast commitment to education and his inspiring leadership skills and qualities.

A Fervent Call to Muslims

Islam gives utmost importance to gaining Ilm (knowledge). A Hadith says one must go as far as China to seek knowledge. But it is lamentable that the community has drifted from this call as they have ignored education, resulting in poverty and social backwardness. 

On the other hand, there is also a conservative view among Muslims that Ilm is all about acquiring religious knowledge. As a result, modern education has been ignored.

Dr. Qadeer holds the view that Ilm in Islam is a broad term that means acquiring both religious and modern education. A Muslim should make an effort to excel in both types of education.

“Our community has messed up its priorities,” he says, “instead of spending on building ostentatious mosques, it should spend that money to establish educational institutions. We can do with a simple mosque but not without education for the next generations.”

He is also against the growing trend of lavish marriages. He says that spending extravagantly on marriages is Haram (prohibited) in Islam. That money should be saved and spent on the education of the children.

According to him, when not enough schools and colleges are available for our children emergence of vast marriage halls is a ludicrous practice. “Shouldn’t these places be converted into schools and colleges?” he asks.

He also says building more madrasas is no more necessary. Instead, more educational institutions should be built because that is also a part of fard-e-kifaya. He also believes that in bigger madrasas, 20-30% of land in their compound should be developed as centres for modern education for madrasa inmates.  

Dr. Qadeer says, “I have a straightforward approach. Where there is mainstream education, blend it with religious and moral education, and where there is religious education, like madrasa education, make provisions for providing modern education side by side.”

Conclusion  

Dr. Qadeer is a visionary leader who understands the importance of modern education in addition to religious, ethical education. He recognises that with the world evolving pretty fast, an individual to succeed needs the necessary skills and knowledge that can only be acquired with the help of modern education.

On the other hand, he is also committed to preserving and promoting religious education as he believes it is integral to the cultural and spiritual heritage of Muslims and plays a crucial role in shaping one’s moral values and principles.

His Shaheen model of education doesn’t pit modern education against religious education; rather, its approach is to integrate the two in a way that creates a holistic and comprehensive experience for students to explore and excel in various fields as well as character building.

The most hopeful and heartening aspect of his endeavour is his commitment to elevate the standard of students and enable them to look for professional opportunities who have been pushed to the side-line as dropouts, slow learners, or madrasa educated without modern education.  

In this context, the AICU, Hifzul Quran Plus, Madrasa Plus initiatives, are proving revolutionary in shaping the lives of needy and marginalised students with exemplary outcomes. A good number of educational educations across the country are reaping the benefit, replicating those initiatives. 

Dr. Qadeer wants his models of education to be adopted by more and more institutions so that students’ hard work and their years of education come to fruition in the form of success in various competitive exams and ushering in new opportunities in their lives. 

A man with ordinary means and background, Dr. Qadeer, with his unwavering determination and selfless dedication, has contributed tremendously to educational entrepreneurship with far-reaching results and benefits. His journey is an inspiration for many who aspire to make a difference in society. His impact on the lives of countless students, particularly in underprivileged communities, is immeasurable, and his legacy is sure to endure for generations to come.

Maeeshat wishes him all success in all his endeavours and prays for his good health and long life so that he continues to inspire, motivate and serve our society with his exceptionally prolific educational initiatives. Aameen!!