There is an urgent need to upgrade, integrate the Islamic seminaries into India’s educational mainstream; several visionary experiments have proved its efficacy
At a time when the Economic Survey 2025 notes that school dropout rates have steadily declined in recent years, standing at 1.9 per cent for primary, 5.2 per cent for upper primary and 14.1 per cent for secondary levels, there is every reason to co-opt the madrasa education into the larger system instead of damming it.
The Supreme Court took the lead last year when it upheld the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board Act of 2004, which regulates madrasa education in the state.
The observations – in response to the Allahabad High Court’s move to strike down the Act, ruling that the law was unconstitutional because it validated an education system that violated the principles of secularism – have huge ramifications for the age-old system of madrasas in the country.
Also read: Supreme Court upholds validity of UP Madrasa Education Act
Madrasas and NEP
It offers an opportunity to carry out genuine reform in this crucial education segment and bring out students into the open, to avail the full benefits of the New Education Policy (NEP). But that can only happen if key stakeholders wish it.
Far from the assumptions of politicians, madrasas ensure basic access to education for disadvantaged groups, protect India’s cultural diversity and uphold the rights of minorities to manage their own educational institutions. Typically, they cater mostly to children from poor families, who stay here up to Class V before moving to regular schools or dropping out altogether.
Non-Muslims in madrasas
To begin with, the conjecture that only Muslims study in madrasas is facile. An Uttarakhand Madrasa Board report of 2023 identified 749 non-Muslim children studying in 30 madrasas in Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, to name just three.
Also read: New lessons: How a Bengal madrasah is a niche for Hindu students
The board also said that the non-Muslim students were admitted with the consent of their parents and were being taught the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books. With a total of 7,399 students enrolled in the madrasas across Uttarakhand (in 2023), non-Muslim students constituted a substantial 10 per cent.
While all-India figures are not available, experts generally agree that would be the percentage of non-Muslim students in madrasas in most states. Muslims constitute roughly 14 per cent of the population in Uttarakhand.
Politics over madrasas
Instead of introducing genuine reform to better lives and open avenues of employment for the economically weaker sections, as the 2004 Uttar Pradesh legislation intended, the move has started a political slugfest of the worst kind.
The Congress attacked the BJP-led state government over the quality of education. “If non-Muslim families are forced to send their children to madrasas in the state, it is time for the BJP government to introspect,” a Congress spokesperson said.
The BJP did introspect – by sealing 84 madrasas across the state in an aggressive crackdown this month. The action has sparked outrage within the Muslim community, who view it as part of a broader pattern of discrimination and suppression of Islamic education under the BJP-led administration.
Also read: Scrapping of madrasas in Assam exposes religious bias and stereotypes
NCPCR report
That rectifying defects and modernising madrasas are the last thing on anyone’s mind would be to understate a case.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in its report claims that Islamic seminaries are providing inadequate and inappropriate education to children. It argued that madrasas, which often focus on religious education, do not provide a comprehensive and formal education that aligns with the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
The commission stated that madrasas often lack a standardised curriculum, qualified teachers and other facilities required under the RTE Act such as midday meals and uniforms.
It also said that madrasas prioritise religious education over secular education, potentially hindering children's access to a broader and more comprehensive curriculum, adding that such schools often lack transparency in their functioning and funding, making it difficult to ensure accountability and compliance with child rights standards.
‘Biased, misleading report’
The NCPCR is an Indian statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. The commission works under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Muslim scholars, educators and madrasa officials have rejected the NCPCR findings, terming the report as “biased and misleading”. For good measure, they argue that it was based on flawed assumptions and a limited understanding of the role madrasas play in the country’s education system. They also claimed that the allegations are politically motivated and designed to marginalise minority institutions.
Also read: As Gujarat govt schools make Gita compulsory, Muslim students look to madrasas, private institutions
NCERT books in madrasas
Maulana Arshad Madani, a prominent Islamic scholar and president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, claimed that “madrasas are not only teaching religious texts; many have incorporated NCERT textbooks into their curriculum. This balanced education provides children with a comprehensive understanding of both religious and worldly knowledge”.
In other words, this sensitive issue, connected to children’s education, has been marred in polemics, rhetoric and vote bank politics.
The more sensible option would be to stick to the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act, 2004, which sought to establish a legal framework for madrasa education in India’s most populous state. This Act enables madrasas to teach both the NCERT curriculum and religious studies.
UP Madrasa board
It provided a framework for the establishment, recognition, curriculum and administration of madrasas across Uttar Pradesh and could have become a template for other states. Under this Act, the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education was established to oversee and supervise the activities of madrasas.
The Act granted recognition to madrasas to enable students to take exams and obtain a degree, diploma or certificate conferred by the board. The statute envisages granting recognition to madrasas, which fulfil the prescribed standards for staff, instructions, equipment and buildings. The grant of recognition imposes a responsibility on the madrasas to attain certain standards of education laid down by the Board.
Watch: Higher education students of UP Madrasas face uncertain future after SC ruling
Access to quality teachers, course materials and equipment will allow students to achieve stipulated educational and professional standards.
Government funding
While it is easy to blame madrasas, it is difficult to establish alternative schooling for the dispossessed, as the government knows all too well.
Uttar Pradesh – where the Madrasa Act was introduced – is a case in point. This state lags most in modernising its madrasas. There are an estimated 35,000-40,000 of these schools and more than half of them do not have government recognition. Recognition ensures official support in the form of funding and the provision of teachers. The rest run on voluntary contributions from community members, which puts them at a disadvantage.
To take just one example, the Madrasa Rizvia Rashid-ul-Uloom in the Bajardiha area of Varanasi is a typical case study. An urban slum, Bajardiha has a population of close to 250,000. There is only one government primary school here. Of the 350 students at the madrasa, 245 are girls and this is typical of the seminaries in this densely populated state.
Tata Trust and madrasas
If the current spree of closing and communalising madrasas continues, it will be a tragedy. Late Ratan Tata’s initiative, the Tata Trust's Madrasa Education Improvement Programme (MIP), proves that with the right direction and efforts, religious and modern education can be integrated and have a positive impact on society as well.
Tata Trust initiated the programme in four madrasas in West Bengal and later extended it to eastern Uttar Pradesh, Kishanganj in Bihar and a pocket in Mumbai. The trust trained madrasa teachers in innovative teaching methods through the centre and co-teaching methods to make it interesting for the students. Teachers were also taught how to teach children in interactive and creative ways.
Also read: NCPCR flags flaws in minority schools, urges Centre to bring them under RTE
Improving education quality
“In Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of madrasas, the Tata trust conducted a major experiment involving about 10,000 children in 50 madrasas of Varanasi and Jaunpur. The experiment was to check the feasibility of upgrading and modernising madrasas so that these turn out to be much like regular schools,” noted Awaz the Voice, a multimedia digital platform.
It added: “The most important aspect of the MIP is that it has not only improved the quality of education but created an inclusive environment in classrooms. Children from both Hindu and Muslim communities study and are educated together.”
It is these experiments that must matter and not populist rabble rousing and history mongering.
(The Federal seeks to present views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. The information, ideas or opinions in the articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Federal)
