Vidya Pandit (Lucknow)

UP madrasa students: balanced education directive

Since the 2001 airborne suicide attacks on the twin towers in New York, USA and the election of the BJP/NDA government to power in New Delhi in 2014, madrasas — Islamic primary-secondary schools that originated in circa 800 as study circles in mosques whose curriculums accord high importance to familiarising children with the Holy Quran, Islamic personal law and other Islamic subjects — have attracted global attention. Although madrasas also teach children secular subjects such as maths, grammar, poetry, history and science, they are widely viewed as schools that brainwash children into Islamic fundamentalism.

Article 30 (A) of the Constitution of India promulgated in 1950, confers a fundamental right upon all minorities to “establish and administer education institutions of their choice”. Therefore the number of madrasa schools in India has grown to 38,000. Of them Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state (pop.240 million) hosts 13,364 mainly attended by children of bottom-of-pyramid Muslim households.

On March 27 this year, a two-judge bench of the Allahabad high court, hearing several writ petitions filed challenging the vires of the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, which legislated a framework for regulating and formalising madrasa education statewide, struck down the Act as unconstitutional. The bench ruled that it violated the principle of secularism, as also Articles 14 (equality before the law), 21 (right to personal liberty) and 21-A (right to education) of the Constitution.

In light of its verdict the Allahabad high court directed the state government to accommodate all students studying in madrasas in regular schools recognised by the state’s Primary Education Board and the High School and Intermediate Education Board. The government was also directed to provide a sufficient number of additional seats and new schools, if required for this purpose and to ensure that every child between the ages of 6-14 is admitted into a duly recognised institution dispensing high-quality education in secular subjects.

However on November 6, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court presided by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, upheld the validity of the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, and struck down the Allahabad high court verdict.

Upholding the constitutional validity of the impugned Act, the Supreme Court held that the Act enables the UP Board to regulate the standard of education in madrasas, not supplant them. Therefore the legislation is consistent with the obligation of the State (government) to ensure that children studying in madrasas attain a level of competency that will equip them to effectively participate in society and earn a living. Moreover, the Supreme Court held that Article 21-A and the RTE Act have to be read consistently with the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice; and as such the Act is within the legislative competence of the state legislature.

“The Supreme Court’s judgement has brought great relief to the UP Madarsa Board inasmuch as it upholds the fundamental right of the board to establish and administer madrasas in the state. Thousands of madrasa students, teachers and officials were eagerly awaiting this judgement. Simultaneously the apex court’s verdict has reiterated the obligation of government to ensure that madrasas provide children with balanced education in secular subjects to enable them to qualify for well-paid jobs and employment. This balanced judgement has bolstered the confidence of Muslims and their faith in the Constitution,” says Dr. Raihan Akther, professor of theology at Aligarh Muslim University.

It’s common knowledge that under the protection of Article 30, children’s education in madrasas is heavily skewed in favour of theology with conventional humanities and science subjects accorded minimal attention. In the circumstances the Supreme Court’s Solomon-like judgment mandating that the UP madrasas pay equal attention to secular subjects offers a level playing field for children of India’s 250 million-strong Muslim community.