Mapping of madrasas begins; UP, Uttarakhand, Assam take lead

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 14

An exercise to map unrecognised madrasas, which are not currently under the ambit of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, has started in the country with BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Uttarakhand taking the lead.

The UP Government said it would finalise its report on such madrasas by October 25. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma have also announced similar plans.

The exercise stems from a recent report of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) submitted to all states and UTs. It presented estimates of unrecognised educational institutions which need to be recognised to ensure compliance with the RTE Act.

The report flagged that as many as 1.3 crore children were enrolled in nearly 89,000 madrasas across the country with a majority of such centres being unrecognised.

Talking to The Tribune, NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo that the commission wanted to ensure the RTE Act implementation in letter and spirit.

“There is no problem with any institution imparting religious education as long as they also impart the legally mandated primary and elementary modern education under the RTE Act. The mapping of institutions is the first step towards ensuring every child gets free and compulsory elementary education. It is the responsibility of the states to reach children who are missing out on RTE mandated rights. Three states have started the exercise. We will urge other states to start too,” he said.

The NCPCR Chairman said once mapped, all institutions would need to either impart the RTE mandated education or send children to neighbourhood schools where the mandate of the law could be implemented.

The RTE Act requires all elementary schools to impart 800 hours of primary education and 1,000 hours of elementary education to children aged 6-14 years in one year.

Impart modern education

No problem with any institution imparting religious education as long as these also impart legally mandated education under the RTE Act. — Priyank Kanoongo, chairman, NCPCR

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