NCPCR recommends end to funding for Madrasas, calls for their closure

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has recommended that all states and Union Territories discontinue funding for Madrasa Boards and eventually shut them down.

In a letter addressed to Chief Secretaries of states and Union Territories, NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo also advised that non-Muslim children currently enrolled in madrasas be moved to mainstream schools, in line with the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009.

The recommendations are based on a comprehensive report prepared after studying the educational conditions of children from the Muslim community.

According to Kanoongo, this report is aimed at creating a road map for ensuring that all children in India grow up in a safe and productive environment, ultimately contributing to national development.

“The report is prepared with an aim to guide us toward creating a comprehensive road map that ensures all children across the country grow up in a safe, healthy, and productive environment. By doing so, they will be empowered to contribute meaningfully to the nation-building process in a more holistic and impactful way,” the letter said.

Talking to IANS, Priyank Kanoongo said, “The commission has studied this issue for the past nine years and researched how children from the Muslim community are deprived of school education due to madrasas, detailing the violations of their rights. We have sent a report on this matter to the Chief Secretaries via letter and requested them to close the Madrasa Boards in their respective states. These Madrasa Boards have failed to serve the purpose for which they were established.”

“Currently, there are still over 1.25 crore children in madrasas with no connection to the Madrasa Boards. The Madrasa Boards are merely receiving government funding while accommodating 1.9 to 2 million children, including non-Muslim Hindu children, to create an illusion of educational support,” he further told IANS.

The NCPCR, established under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act of 2005, is tasked with safeguarding the rights of children across India.

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