Madhya Pradesh officials issued an order on Friday stating that madrasas and schools associated with the Madrasa board and receiving state funding cannot compel children to participate in religious education.
According to the order, students must have parental consent to learn religion in these institutions. Additionally, the state government is conducting a survey to verify whether any non-Muslim children are enrolled in schools affiliated with the Madrasa board.
This survey is followed by claims from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) which raised concerns over non-Muslim children studying at madrasas.
NCPCR Chairman Priyanka Kanoongo stated that if any non-Muslim kid is studying in a madrasa, the government will stop funds and cancel registration for that madrasa.
Commissioner Shilpa Gupta had directed to verify all madrasas registered by the Madhya Pradesh Madrasa Board. The order also claimed that many non-Muslims were registered at madrasas illegitimately in order to get grants from the state government.
Earlier, a report published by NCPCR in June claimed that over 9,000 Hindu children were enrolled in madrasas. This revelation was followed by public outcry all over Madhya Pradesh. The commission called for a thorough survey by the state government led by Mohan Yadav.
The Madhya Pradesh State Education Department has started inspection of madrasas stating reasons as “suspicious activities and missing students, the department cancelled the recognition of 61 madrasas.
On July 30, School Education Minister Uday Pratap Singh ordered, “Madrasas failing to satisfy state guidelines should be derecognized and any help from the School Education Department should be stopped immediately.”
In 2023, affiliation of 341 madrasas was canceled. Former CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan during assembly poll campaigns stated, “Illegal madrasas in the state that teach bigot ideas will be reviewed.”
In 2022, nearly 684 madrasas were cancelled, citing ‘failure to apply for license renewal’.
