As per the data available on the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education website, there are 13,784 recognized madrasas and 8,449 unrecognized madrasas and this does not include madrasas in masjids. Around 550+ got government funding in 2021 under the Madarsa Modernization Scheme by Government. Around 19 lakh students are enrolled in these madrasas.
If we see unrecognized madrasas through a demographic lens then we can observe that many of them are either near the Indo-Nepal border or in districts with large areas.
2. Unrecognised Madarsas pic.twitter.com/deXuRM6pj9
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But why there is a need for so many madarsas? Are there any less number of schools in UP? The answer is no!
According to the Department of Education, GoI UDISE report 2021-22, UP had 2,58,054 schools with 4,71,81,438 enrollments having a pupil-teacher ratio of 31. Below you can see the number of schools in each district of UP as of now.
3. Schools pic.twitter.com/oEg84SYNuw
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If we look at Gurukuls, Sikh Gurmat Schools, Buddhist Monastic Schools, or Catholic Schools there is a lack of official government surveys or reports. According to a Non-Profit Organisation Gurukul Kranti, there are only 355 Gurukuls in pan India out of which only 35 are in UP.
4. Gurukuls pic.twitter.com/exOa2OCBAy
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Since India is a secular country, and still, crores of rupees of funds are allocated to madrasas every year for the upliftment.
Following the same through the case of Azaj Ahmad v. State of UP, India’s child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) filed the intervention petition on the issue of religious education being imparted in madrasas at the government’s expense. Azaj Ahmad had moved to court due to a salary dispute and sought relief from the madrasa board. NCPCR has filed an intervention petition in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, arguing that government funding to madrasas in Uttar Pradesh be stopped, claiming-
“..education imparted to children in madrasas is not adequate/ comprehensive and, as such, the same is against the provisions of Right to Education Act, 2009,”
The High Court on March 27 directed the Centre and the UP government to file their affidavits in order to explain-
“how on Government expense or funding provided by the Government Exchequer, religious education be imparted and whether this could be in violation of Article 14, 25, 26, 29 and 30 of the Constitution of India.”
HC had also said, “It is not in dispute that in Madarsas besides normal curriculum, the religious education is also imparted”.
The court listed the case for the next hearing on May 30.
