New Delhi: State funding to madrasas across India should be stopped and all madrasa boards should be disbanded and shut down as they are violating the fundamental Right to Education of more than 1 crore children studying in them, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has suggested in a letter written to chief secretaries of all states and Union territories.
The suggestions are based on findings of the child rights body’s latest report titled ‘Guardians of Faith or Oppressors of Rights: Constitutional Rights of Children vs. Madrasas’ which raises serious concerns about the state of functioning of three madrassas.
Speaking about the report, NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo said the report comes after studying these institutions for 9 years and it has been found that around 1.25 crore children are deprived of their basic education rights and are being taught in a way that would only benefit the motives of certain people.
“The people who are managing these madrassas are those who had declared during the partition that they want to preach Islam across India,” he told ANI.
#WATCH | NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo says, ” Commission has released its final report after studying this issue for 9 years. We have found that around 1.25 crore children are deprived of their basic education rights. They are being tutored in such a way that they would work… https://t.co/XZdgB4jOFf pic.twitter.com/eqMgzeQYoI
— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2024
Shocking findings in the report
The report highlighted that religious institutions operating outside the scope of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, have had a negative impact, noting that the exemption of madrassas from the RTE Act has deprived children attending these institutions of access to quality education.
While Articles 29 and 30 of the Indian Constitution protect the rights of minorities to preserve their culture and establish educational institutions, the NCPCR argues that these provisions have unintentionally resulted in discrimination against children in madrassas, who are missing out on the formal education required under the RTE Act.
The report highlighted that while madrassas primarily focus on religious education, many lack essential components of formal education, such as sufficient infrastructure, trained teachers, and appropriate academic curricula. This puts students at a disadvantage compared to their peers in mainstream schools.
Additionally, the report cited instances where madrassa students were denied basic entitlements, including textbooks, uniforms, and access to the midday meal scheme. The NCPCR also expressed concern over the large number of Muslim children out of school, with an estimated 1.2 crore Muslim children not receiving formal education, according to UDISE 2021-22 data. The report further noted a lack of accountability in many madrassas, with concerns about physical safety due to inadequate infrastructure and reported cases of child rights violations.
‘Stop funding of madrassas’
The NCPCR has recommended several measures, including halting state funding to madrassas and madrassa boards unless they comply with the Right to Education (RTE) Act. It also suggested removing non-Muslim children from madrassas, as their inclusion violates Article 28 of the Constitution, which prohibits religious instruction without parental consent.
