NCPCR Challenges Madrasa Education In Supreme Court, Cites Violation Of Children’s Rights

On Wednesday, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on a plea challenging Allahabad High Court’s March 22 judgment striking down ‘UP Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004’.

‘The education imparted to children in Madrasa is not comprehensive, and is therefore against the provisions of Right to Education Act, 2009. The Madrasa’s are infringing on children’s fundamental right to a good education by failing to provide these basic requirements. Children are denied not only a suitable education but also a healthy atmosphere and improved opportunities for growth, affidavit states.

Such institutes are also providing Islamic religious education to non-muslims which is further in violation of Article 28(3) of the Constitution of India, the affidavit further says. It says the child getting education in such an institution will be devoid of basic knowledge of school curriculum which is provided in a school.

NCPCR further says in affidavit that Madrasas don’t only render an unsatisfactory and insufficient model for education but also have an arbitrary mode of working which is wholly and in absence of a curriculum and evaluation procedure as laid down under Section 29 of the Right to Education Act, 2009.

According to the media reports, many children in the country attend Madrasas, they provide large religious teaching with very little participation in the national mainstream education system. NCPCR says several complaints have been received regarding the fatwas issued by Darul Uloom Deoband which runs a large number of Madarsas in the country.

The Supreme Court on April 5 stayed the Allahabad High Court’s March 22 judgment striking down ‘UP Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004’ as unconstitutional and violative of secularism and fundamental rights. A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said finding of Allahabad High Court that the establishment of a Madarsa board breaches the principles of secularism may not be correct.