“5,000 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh (UP) have applied for the registration to get them recognized since 2016, and that remains pending, because it doesn’t get any response from the authorities. This also put the education of more than 7 lakh students at stake”, Dr Iftikhar Ahmad Javed, Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Board Education (UPMBE) told Maktoob.
Dr Javed’s statement comes in light of the recent notification by Uttar Pradesh Government’s Basic Education Department (BED) that mandates the closure of all “unrecognised madrasas” within the state or will have to pay a fine of Rs 10000 daily for non-compliance.
On 23 October, the BEDs of various districts issued notices to more than 12 madrasas stating that the madrasas that are registered with the UPMBE would be allowed to operate and the rest would be either shut down or will pay a fine of Rs 10,000 per day.
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Though madrasa heads and clerics have no issue with getting recognition and registration, the state’s polarised atmosphere, politicisation of the institution, criminalization of the working of the madrasas and vilification by the media have made it difficult for some to function. Most of them are self-funded and not receiving any funds or donations from the state government.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here .