Uttar Pradesh govt mulling amendment to Madrasa Act after Supreme Court verdict
Stakeholders express concern over future of students enrolled in Kamil (graduate) and Fazil (postgraduate) courses
The Uttar Pradesh government is considering to amend the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004 after a recent Supreme Court judgment and it is likely to exclude the Kamil (Graduate) and Fazil (Post Graduate) courses from the scope of the Act, according to people aware of the matter.
Amid a buzz over the likely amendment, stakeholders have expressed concern over the future of the students already enrolled for these two courses.
Upholding the constitutional validity of the U.P. Madrasa Act, the Supreme Court last month had said that the U.P. Madrasa Board will grant recognition only till Class 12. The court had declared that the Kamil and Fazil degrees were in conflict with the University Grants Commission Act.
Around 16,000 madrasas in the state are affiliated with the U.P. State Madrasa Board.
According to a rough estimate, around 1000 affiliated madrasas offer Kamil and Fazil courses. Nearly 38,000 students are enrolled in these courses. The duration of the Kamil course is three years and that of the Fazil course is two years.
Expressing concern over the purported proposal, former U.P. Madrasa Board chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said, “If this comes true, then what will happen to those students who are already enrolled in Kamil and Fazil courses as they have already given time to these courses? These two courses should be immediately recognised by the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University so that students can continue their higher education.”
“The proposal for recognition of Kamil and Fazil by the Language University has been lying with the government for many years. The proposal in this regard has been sent multiple times but it seems the issue is lost somewhere in the files. However, after the court verdict, some arrangements must be made to adjust these students and save their future,” Javed added.
Prominent Sunni cleric Maulana Sufiyan Nizami said, “The courses of Kamil and Fazil have no legal weightage in any university or educational institution. The only weightage it had was in the appointments of the Madrasa Board. However, for last many years, those completing their Alim (Class 12) used to go universities for higher education. I don’t think an amendment is needed as the course is not accepted in any university. If really any amendment is done, the government should think about safeguarding the future of those who are pursuing these courses.”
Minister of state for minority welfare, Muslim waqf and Haj Danish Azad Ansari said that nothing has been finalised in relation to amendment, but the government will soon hold a meeting on implementing the Supreme Court directives regarding madrasa education.
“The directives by the Honourable Supreme Court with regard to madarsa education will be discussed in a meeting at government level soon and will figure out what best can be done for madrasa education. The Yogi government will take the best possible steps to provide the best education to the students of madrasas,” Ansari added.
On November 5, the Supreme Court set aside the Allahabad high court’s March judgment that declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004 unconstitutional.
Simultaneously, a bench comprising the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra underlined the Uttar Pradesh government’s vital role in ensuring that educational standards in madrasas align with modern academic expectations, asking the state to relocate students to other schools.
The Supreme Court also declared that madrasas can’t grant degrees of higher education since that’s violative of the University Grants Commission Act.