The Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board reached out to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urging him to initiate the government’s recognition process for more than 8,000 madrasas in the state. Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, Chairman of the UP Madrasa Education Board, conveyed in his letter that no madrasa has received recognition in the past eight years due to the state government’s lack of approval.

Javed highlighted that a survey conducted by the government last year revealed that 8,449 madrasas lack recognition from the Madrasa Education Board. He emphasized that, as of November 15 this year, a year has passed since the survey’s report was released. Javed expressed concern that unrecognised madrasas are now being labeled as “illegal” and requested the chief minister to promptly begin the process of granting recognition to these institutions.

In the letter, Javed underscored the impact on approximately 7.5 lakh children studying in these unrecognised madrasas, with 95% coming from backward sections of Muslim society. He urged for the initiation of the recognition process, aligning it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas.’

Despite Javed’s request at a board meeting in September, where he urged officials to begin the recognition process, no progress has been made yet. Additionally, education department officials are contemplating halting the operation of unrecognised madrasas and imposing legal actions and fines. In Uttar Pradesh, there are approximately 25,000 madrasas, with around 16,000 already recognised by the board.

Source: PTI

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