Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Board Act, 2022 will be heard in the Supreme Court today. In this case, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud will pronounce the verdict.
The Madrasa Board Act came into force in 2022
In fact, the Uttar Pradesh government had enacted the Madrasah Board Act in 2022, under which madrassas in the state were required to be under a board to get government recognition. The objective of this law was to improve the level of education in madrassas, bring transparency in the recruitment of teachers and provide formal education to students.
Religious freedom and interference in madrassa teaching
But madrasa organizations that oppose this law say that this law is interfering with religious freedom and the traditional structure of madrassa teaching. They say that this is a unilateral order and that it may affect the existence and functioning of the madrassas. Opponents also allege that the law is an attempt to bring madrasas under government control and subject them to the secular education system, which goes against their religious and cultural aspects.
Waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision
The court made it clear that a balance would need to be struck to implement the government’s efforts while respecting the freedom and fundamental rights of the madrassas. After the decision, it will be clear to what extent the UP Madarsa Board Act can be challenged constitutionally and what will be the impact on the validity of its implementation. A possible decision is expected after today’s hearing in this case, which may impact the future of the madrasas and the educational system.
The High Court had annulled the law itself
In fact, in this case the petitioner had argued that all educational institutions related to religions like Jain, Sikh and Christian come under the Ministry of Education, while madrassas come under the Department of Minorities. Due to this, madrasa students are deprived of experience and political benefits in the field of education. While hearing this, the Allahabad High Court canceled the UP Madrasa Act. However, today the country’s Supreme Court has suspended this decision.
Is the objective of the Madrassa Board only to provide religious education?
In 2019, the Allahabad High Court referred some issues related to the functioning and structure of the Madrasa Board to a larger bench. These questions asked whether the objective of the Madrasa Board is only to provide religious education. And can people belonging to a particular religion be appointed or nominated to the Madrasa Board under the secular Indian Constitution? The Supreme Court has now decided to consider these questions.
How many madrasas are there in UP?
Let us tell you that around 26,000 madrasas are functioning in Uttar Pradesh. Of them, 12,800 madrassas never obtained their renewed registration. There are 8,500 madrassas that have not even been registered. At the same time, 4,600 madrassas are registered and bear their own expenses. Apart from this, there are 598 madrassas which are fully functioning with the help of the government i.e. the government provides full funds to these madrassas. In total, there are 26,000 madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, but only 598 of them are government madrassas.
