- By Abhishek Sheoran
- Mon, 21 Oct 2024 12:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Supreme Court on Monday put a stay on the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) recommendations seeking a ban on the funding to Madrassas and Madrassa boards for not complying with the Right to Education Act. The top court ordered the Union Government and the States to not act in accordance with the communication issued by the Commission.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra issued an interim order while considering a writ petition from the Islamic clerics' organization Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind, which contested the actions taken by the NCPCR.
On June 7, the NCPCR asked the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to revoke the recognition of Madrasas that failed to adhere to the provisions of the RTE Act. Subsequently, on June 25, the Commission reached out to the Secretary of the Department of School Education & Literacy, under the Ministry of Education, urging them to instruct all States and Union Territories to carry out inspections of existing Madrasas registered with the UDISE system.
The commission recommended the immediate withdrawal of recognition and UDISE codes for non-compliant Madrasas under the RTE Act, 2009, and advised the Union government against extending the UDISE framework to these institutions. Besides, it sought the children attending Madrasas be enrolled in the formal schools.
Following the proposal, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary wrote to all the DMs to conduct a thorough probe of state madrassas admitting non-Muslim students. The order also directed collectors to "ensure immediate admission of all children enrolled in madrasas into schools". Similar orders were issued by the Tripura Government as well.
Later, the Union Government wrote to all States/UTs to take action as per the NCPCR's instruction.
