After receiving a directive from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the Gujarat education department has identified over 7,000 children enrolled solely in madrassas.
As mandated by the Right to Education Act, they should also be part of the conventional schooling system. A statewide survey of 1,300 madrassas revealed that over 80,000 students were attending madrassas. Of these, around 7,000 attended only madrassas, while the rest attended both madrassas and regular schools.
Bhavnagar district has the highest number of children solely attending madrassas – around 1,400 students, followed by Banaskantha (1,100) and Kutch (600).
Integration process
The government is planning to integrate these children into mainstream schools. They will be able to continue madrassa education after school hours. The education department has issued a notification, asking the commissioner of schools and director of primary education to reach out to parents during the upcoming enrolment season in June.
The notification was issued based on a circular from the NCPCR, which requested details from all states regarding “non-Hindu students of madrassas and unmapped madrassas.”
According to the NCPCR circular, there are 1,300 madrassas in Gujarat, and the state has been asked to provide details of other operational madrassas as well.
NCPCR seeks details
The NCPCR has sought the names of organisations running madrassas, whether they have been recognised by any government body, and whether they have BU certification and a fire department NOC.
The state education department is also required to provide information on the number of students in each madrassa, the school timings, the salary paid to teachers and the source of the teachers’ salaries. The NCPCR notification has also asked for information on the donations received by madrassas, the fees charged to students, and the number of madrassa students aged between 6 and 14 years.
Details have been sought on the students studying in madrassas as well as regular schools. In such cases, details like the child tracking number have been sought.
District Education Officers (DEOs) and District Primary Education Officers (DPEOs) have been told to provide all the information on a priority basis.
The actual number of children attending madrassas might be higher, according to government sources. Also, there were reports of resistance during the survey, with authorities being denied entry to 39 madrassas.
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