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Rajasthan HC seeks details from govt on madarsa education, financial support
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led government launched the Madrasa Modernization Scheme under which it said that the state will provide financial assistance of up to Rs.25 lakh for the development of madrassas in Rajasthan
The Rajasthan high court on Friday directed the Additional Advocate General to file an affidavit within four weeks seeking details on matter concerning religious education in madarsas and financial support provided by the state government.
“The affidavit should provide specific details regarding the curriculum, the mode of selection and appointment of staff, the control and management of the Madarsa, and address the concerns raised about religious education imparted through these institutions,” the bench of chief justice Augustine George Masih and justice Vinit Kumar Mathur ordered.
The bench hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by petitioner Mukesh Jain.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led government launched the Madrasa Modernization Scheme under which it said that the state will provide financial assistance of up to Rs.25 lakh for the development of madrassas in Rajasthan.
Counsel Motisingh Rajpurohit, representing the petitioner, said India is a secular and democratic nation, where minorities have been granted additional fundamental rights through Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution, however, “the Rajasthan Madarsa Board Act 2020, which was notified in the Rajasthan Gazette on September 23, 2020, promotes a particular religious ideology and is in conflict with the principles of a secular democratic state”.
He further highlighted the enactment of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act 2004, which governs the establishment, affiliation, and recognition of minority educational institutions and argued that as education falls under the concurrent list of the Constitution, “the state cannot create laws that contradict those enacted by the Union Parliament”.
The counsel claimed that the state government’s funding and grants to promote a specific religious ideology through legislation could potentially infringe upon the fundamental rights of other minority communities in Rajasthan.
Rajpurohit raised concerns about the lack of adoption of the National Education Policy and the absence of governance from the state education program and examinations conducted by the secondary board or the government in the madarsas of Rajasthan.
Considering the arguments, the high court ordered the state government to file an affidavit within four weeks and scheduled the next hearing for this case on September 1, 2023.
