Allahabad HC declares UP's Madarsa Education Act 2004 as 'unconstitutional'
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday deemed the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 as "unconstitutional." The verdict was delivered by Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi. This decision came in response to a writ petition lodged by Anshuman Singh Rathore, questioning the constitutional legitimacy of the Act and certain clauses of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2012.
Why does this story matter?
The court's verdict comes on the heels of the Uttar Pradesh government's initiative to scrutinize Islamic education institutions. In October 2023, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was established to probe into the foreign funding madarsas. The SIT report suggested punitive measures against over 8,000 madarsas and revealed that around 80 madarsas in border areas had received overseas funding amounting to approximately Rs. 100 crores.
HC advocates for integration of madrasa students into 'maintstream'
In light of the ruling, the high court has directed the state government to assimilate students presently enrolled in madrasas into other schools. This order is aimed at integrating these students into the mainstream education system. The court's verdict also indicates that all grants or financial assistance provided by the government to grant-in-aid madrasas will be discontinued, leading to their dissolution.
HC's question to Centre, state
During previous hearings, the high court questioned both the central and the state governments regarding the placement of the Madarsa Board under the minority department instead of the state education department. The Act mandates madarsas to operate under the state minority welfare ministry, prompting questions about the arbitrariness of segregating madarsa education under minority welfare while other minority community institutions, such as Jain, Sikh, and Christian, are under the education ministry.
