On Friday, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights told all of the state chief secretaries to find out which madrassas have both Muslim and non-Muslim students. “We’ve heard from different places that non-Muslim students are going to government-funded or recognized madrassas. We told all state chief secretaries that they need to find these madrassas and move non-Muslim students out of them and into schools “NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo said while talking to ANI.
“The Uttar Pradesh Madrassa Board’s statement that it will continue to let non-Muslim students into madrassas was wrong and stupid. So, we wrote to the Special Secretary for Minorities to tell them that giving non-Muslim students an Islamic education is against Article 28.3. We asked them to respond within three days “he added.
As institutions, madrasas are mostly responsible for teaching children about religion. There are three different kinds of madrasas: “Recognised Madrasas,” “Unrecognised Madrasas,” and “Unmapped Madrasas.” Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, the head of the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Council, asked the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on January 7 to rethink their letter that asked states and UTs to inspect recognized madrasas that let non-Muslim children in. “Sanskrit schools aren’t just for Hindus,” he said.
“The letter from the Child Protection Commission has come to our attention. I want to say that we give children a modern education based on the NCERT syllabus and that madrasas only don’t teach religious education “Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said.
In response to the letter from the child rights panel, which asked for an investigation into Madrasas and the acceptance of non-Muslim students, Iftikhar said, “Some people who are not Muslim go to madrasas, and some people who are not Hindu go to Sanskrit schools. Missionary schools are also places where kids of all religions go to school. Even though I went to Banaras Hindu University (BHU), NCPCR should think again about sending that letter.”
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) appealed to all state and union territory chief secretaries in December to investigate all recognized madrasas that admit non-Muslim children.
The NCPCR further advised Chief Secretaries to map all unmapped madrasas and transfer all non-Muslim pupils to regular schools.
Based on complaints, Chairperson-NCPCR Priyank Kanoongo wrote, “…it is found that youngsters belonging to Non-Muslim community are attending Government funded/ Recognised Madrasas.”
Commission letter: “But government-funded or recognized madrasas teach religious and some formal education to young people. The Commission also found out that a number of State and UT governments give them scholarships. This goes against Article 28(3) of the Indian Constitution, which says that schools can’t make kids take religious classes without their parent’s permission.”
The organization created by the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act of 2005 said: “Check out any government-funded or recognized madrasas in your state or territory that let non-Muslim kids in. The investigation should include checking out the Madrasa students in person. After the investigation, put all of these kids in school.”