Education Imparted In Madrasa Is Not Comprehensive, Violates RTE Act: Read Written Submissions By NCPCR Before Apex Court Criticizing UP Board Of Madarsa Education Act

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has filed its written submissions before the Supreme Court in the matter where the court on August 5 had stayed the Allahabad High Court's Judgment that declared the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004 as unconstitutional.

In the written submissions, the child rights commission submits that the 2004 Act, instead of an enabling tool, becomes a depriving tool for the children studying in minority institutions. In addition, 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 NCPCR states, "The denial to extend right to education to children by these institutions with minority status not just deprives the children of their most important fundamental right to education but this exclusion/denial of these children snowballs into depriving them of their fundamental right to Equality before law (Article 14); prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15(1)); that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment (Article 39(f)) and also interrupts States’ responsibility under Article 13 (2) to not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred under the fundamental rights and any law made in contravention of this shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void."

"The issue of children studying in Madrasa’s is one which requires consideration by this Hon’ble Court and therefore, NCPCR, in the interest of the children, humbly submits that the education imparted to children in Madrasa is not comprehensive and is therefore against the provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009," reads the written submissions filed through Advocate Abhaid Parikh.

It highlights that all those children who are not in the formal schooling system are deprived of their fundamental right to elementary education, including the entitlements such as Midday Meal, uniform, trained teachers, etc. and since Madrasas are exempted from the purview of the RTE Act, 2009, all children studying in the Madrasas are deprived of not only formal education in schools but also benefits as provided under the RTE Act, 2009.

"Merely teaching a few NCERT books in the curriculum is a mere guise in the name of imparting education and does not ensure that the children are receiving formal and quality education," the commission states.

The NCPCR further states that there are three categories of Madrasas: i. Recognized Madrasas; ii. Unrecognized Madrasas, and; iii. Unmapped Madrasas. "A large number of children attending Institutions that are not recognized. Children also attend such institutions that are unrecognized as these are unmapped and number of such institutions is not known. Therefore, whether these institutions provide quality education and the information on the environment these institutions provide to children also remains unknown. Children attending all such institutions (unrecognised and/or unmapped schools) are to be treated as Out of School, even if they provide regular education," the submissions read.

The child rights commission also submits, "A Madrasa is not only a unsuitable place to receive ‘fundamental’ education but also in absence of entitlements as provided under Section 19, 21,22, 23, 24, 25, and 29 of the RTE Act. Furthermore, Madrasa do not 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."

The NCPCR also alleges that the Madrasa also fails to provide holistic environment to the children. "Majority of Madrasa’s have no idea as to how to plan social events or extracurricular activities, like field trips, that could provide students with some level of experiential learning. In light of the same it is most respectfully submitted that many children in the country attend Madrasas, however, they provide by and large, religious teaching with very little participation in the national mainstream education system," says NCPCR.

Furthermore, the commission submits that teachers who are appointed at Madrasas are appointed through the individual management of Madrasas, failing to uphold the standards laid down under the Schedule of the RTE Act stating the Norms and Standards for a school.

"In some cases, it has been observed that teachers don't even possess a Bachelor of Education/Diploma in Education or even meet the necessary qualification. The teachers appointed in madrasas are largely dependent upon the conventional methods used in learning Quran and other religious texts. This scanty and unregularized working in Madrasas creates a haywire system which just stands alone on the conventional ground of religion," it states.

Additionally, the written submissions state that the Madrasa’s are infringing on children's fundamental right to a good education by failing to provide these basic requirements. "Madrasa are getting Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) Codes despite not fulfilling the norms and standards as per the RTE Act, 2009," it alleges.