ALL EYES ON SEMINARIES

Madrasas, or schools that chiefly impart Islamic learning, are under the scanner in Madhya Pradesh, with the state government's school education department conducting a probe into their functioning.

- Rahul Noronha

There are two main issues that have prompted the move-the question of non-Muslim students studying in madrasas without the consent of their guardians, and the matter of non-existent students allegedly kept on the rolls in some madrasas so that they can keep receiving government aid. While the BJP regime claims that the move is aimed at making madrasas more efficient, madrasa owners claim that it seeks to weaken them and raise suspicion about their functioning in public.

The action against madrasas started after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights wrote to the state government last year, asking them if Hindu children have been enrolled in madrasas-as was brought to its notice-against their parents' wishes. "There is no bar on Hindu children studying in a madrasa, but they have to secure parental/guardian consent like all other students before joining," says an official of the MP Madrasa Board.