Bhopal: The government of Madhya Pradesh has said that Madarasas and schools enrolled under Madarsa boards that receive funds from the state cannot force children to participate in “religious education.”
A notification issued by the Education Department of the Madhya Pradesh government states that children enrolled with Madarsas (or under the Madarsa board) can participate in religious studies or activities only with the consent of their parents.
The state government has also decided to survey non-Muslim children enrolled in schools run under the Madarsa board. This development follows the recommendation of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
Notably, NCPCR had earlier claimed that non-Muslim children were being enrolled in Madarsas so that they (Madarsas) receive grants from the state government.
As per its claim, non-Muslim children are enrolled with Madarsas to increase the number of students so that they will get more grants from the state government.
NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo reiterated that non-Muslim children enrolled in the schools run under the Madarsa board in Madhya Pradesh are being forced to take part in religious studies and activities.
“If the children belonging to the non-Muslim community are found enrolled with Madarsas, their grants will be cancelled, and their registration will also be cancelled,” the notice read.
Over the past few months, there have been several instances when the names of non-Muslim children were found enrolled in Madarsas, and controversies erupted at different times in Madhya Pradesh.
According to the NCPCR’s report in June this year, over 9,000 Hindu children were found enrolled in Islamic seminaries (madrasas) in Madhya Pradesh. Subsequently, the Commission demanded that the Mohan Yadav-led BJP government conduct a survey.
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–IANS
