The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has recommended that States and Union Territories across India discontinue their funding to Madrasa Boards.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories, NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo claimed that madrasas are depriving Muslim children of formal education and called for the eventual shutdown of Madrasa Boards.
Kanoongo also advised that non-Muslim children currently enrolled in madrasas be moved to “mainstream schools”, in line with the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009.
NCPCR claims that the recommendations are based on a report prepared after studying the educational conditions of children from the Muslim community.
“The report is prepared with an aim to guide us toward creating a comprehensive road map that ensures all children across the country grow up in a safe, healthy, and productive environment. By doing so, they will be empowered to contribute meaningfully to the nation-building process in a more holistic and impactful way,” the letter said.
“The commission has studied this issue for the past nine years and researched how children from the Muslim community are deprived of school education due to madrasas, detailing the violations of their rights. We have sent a report on this matter to the Chief Secretaries via letter and requested them to close the Madrasa Boards in their respective states. These Madrasa Boards have failed to serve the purpose for which they were established,” IANS quoted Kanoongo as saying.
He further stated, “Currently, there are still over 1.25 crore children in madrasas with no connection to the Madrasa Boards. The Madrasa Boards are merely receiving government funding while accommodating 1.9 to 2 million children, including non-Muslim Hindu children, to create an illusion of educational support.”
The NCPCR’s report is titled as Guardians of Faith or Oppressors of Rights: Constitutional Rights of Children vs. Madrasas.
