KOZHIKODE: Waking up early to attend the madrassa classes have always been a dull regimen for the 10-year-old Nazeem PV. But not anymore. For him the ho-hum religious classes at Hayathul Islam Madrassa attached to the Mohiyuddin Mosque in the city, which he attends before going to an English-medium school, now has loads of attractions. He can paint lessons on computer, engage in science experiments, and read in leisure sitting in a well-stocked library.

A hi-tech makeover is sweeping across the 14,000-odd religious teaching centres attached to mosques in the state thanks to the Centre-sponsored madrassa modernization scheme. Over Rs 23 crore have been disbursed to 547 madrassas in 2011-12 that helped the 'Oothupallis' which were limited to rote teaching of Holy Quran to adopt modern pedagogical ways of teaching science and mathematics and offer computer classes. Some even teach students English and Hindi.