The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights’ (NCPCR) recommendation urging all states and Union territories to halt the funding for madrasas.
A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra passed the order in response to a petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind.
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The petitioner argued that the NCPCR’s communication and subsequent action by some states warranted an immediate stay.
Earlier this month, the child rights panel had issued a controversial recommendation urging states/’Union territories to cease funding for madrasas. It claimed that approximately 1.25 crore children were being deprived of a formal education and were instead receiving teachings that allegedly aligned with motives of specific groups.
In a letter addressed to chief secretaries and administrators of all states/UTs, NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanoongo referenced the Commission’s report titled ‘Guardians of Faith or Oppressors of Rights: Constitutional Rights of Children vs. Madrasas’.
The letter recommended that state funding for madrasas and madrasa boards be discontinued across the country and that these institutions be shut down.
The NCPCR also suggested that all non-Muslim children currently enrolled in madrasas should be transferred to formal schools to receive fundamental education as mandated under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
It further recommended that Muslim children, whether attending recognized or unrecognized madrasas, be enrolled in formal schools to ensure they receive education in line with the prescribed curriculum and timeframes as per the RTE Act.
The child rights panel’s recommendations were reportedly based on a study conducted over a period of nine years.
