NCPCR Chief pulls up journalist for glorifying madarsas, says depriving children of education in the name of the madarsa is a violation of child rights

‘Independent journalist’ Ranvijay Singh who often writes op-eds in mainstream media publications was seen glorifying Islamic preaching schools or madarsas on Twitter. In a tweet on Monday, he ascertained that madarsas are nothing but normal schools. He said, “History, Civics, Mathematics, Science and Urdu/English/Hindi are also taught in madarsas. By studying from a madarsa, children also become IAS, they will be made in future also. Do not raise your eyes after seeing Arabic words, read a little and let them study.”

To this assertion, Priyank Kanoongo the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights (NCPCR) flagged Ranvijay Singh’s tweet saying it is nothing but a glorification of madarsas devoid of their grim reality. What followed was a heated exchange wherein Kanoongo asserted that depriving children of basic education in the name of madarsas is a violation of their child rights. “It violates Article 21 ‘A’ of the Constitution,” he wrote.

To this, Singh was quick to rebut stating, “According to this statement of the NCPCR Chief, governments should be prosecuted because the government itself is running the madrasa. Further quoting Urdu poet Shauq Bahraichi, he said, “Just one owl was enough to destroy. But while an owl is sitting on every branch, what will happen to the tree?”

Responding to Singh’s allegations, Kanoongo clarified that the government does not run unmapped madarsas. He further stated that more than 1.25 crore children have been forced to study in the Islamic religious schools, which follow the syllabus made by Aurangzeb. He quoted a report drafted by NCPCR in March 2021 which documents the education of children in India studying in the minority communities.

The Report by NCPCR

Titled the ‘Impact of exemption under article 15(5) W.R.T. Article 21 (A) of the constitution of India on Education of children of minority communities,’ the report by NCPCR examines exemption under Article 15 (5) of the Constitution has benefited the children of minority communities. The report combines secondary data analysis of the trends regarding minority schools as well as consultations with their stakeholders such as students, teachers and principals.

Asserting that the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India makes the Right to Education a fundamental right for children between 6-14 years, the report studies the impact of the exemption made to this law for education institutes belonging to religious minorities.

Article 15(5) empowers the government to form any policy for the upliftment of the socially backward classes, thus accelerating affirmative action in private unaided schools in India. However, it has been made inapplicable to minority schools along with the exemption under RTE Act.

Observations of the report

The report came up with detailed statistical data on the condition of minority school education in the country. The key findings were as follows –

1. The Christian community which makes up 11.54% of the total religious population, contributes to 71.96% share of the total religious minority schools in the country.
2. The Muslim community despite contributing a share percentage of 69.18% to the religious minority population in the country, contributes only 22.75% to the religious minority schools.
3. 85.33% of minority schools secured their Minority Status Certificate from 2006 onwards. A sharp increase was observed in schools securing the Certificate post passage of the 93rd Amendment in 2006.
4. A glaring revelation came when it was found that 62.50% of students in minority schools belong to non-minority communities. In the states as UTs of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand this percentage goes up to more than 70%.

The above data collected in the report shows the grim picture of minority schools in the country being run for disseminating religious fundamentalism, extremism and acting as a means of conversion under the garb of religious doctrine.

The report contains certain key recommendations that were put forward, owing to the education of minority children. It includes –

1. Mapping of all Unrecognised Institutions during Survey to Identify Out of School Children Greater role of the Minority Cell in NCERT/ SCERTS to take the fundamental right to elementary education to all children especially children of minority communities.
2. Need for appropriate steps to extend the provisions of RTE to minority educational institutions or make laws with similar effect to ensure RTE of children studying in minority educational institutions.