Opinion With recent Supreme Court ruling, busting myths about madarsas

Some states, like UP and Assam, are striving to get rid of the madarsas on the grounds that they are religious education institutions. The madarsa education system in India often makes headlines for the wrong reasons, frequently taunted as a breeding ground for terrorism — a myth surrounding the lives of Muslims in India, with no evidence to support such a claim.

Recently, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) recommended discontinuing state funding for madarsas across the country. This recommendation is articulated in a report titled “Guardians of Faith or Oppressors of Rights: Constitutional Rights of Children vs Madrasas.” The report discusses the history of madarsas and their alleged role in violating children’s educational rights. The title, chapter headings, and language used in the report seem to reflect an anti-Islam bias. These recommendations appear to violate the constitutional values of secularism and freedom of religion or belief.

The word “madarsa” means “a place of learning” or “place of study”, equivalent to a school or college. In India, unfortunately, it has acquired a negative connotation, often associated with backwardness and orthodoxy owing to constant right-wing propaganda. The madarsa system is deeply rooted in Indian history, with one of the oldest madarsas in the South located in Sitapur, West Bengal, established in 1751. The Calcutta Madrasa, established in 1780, before the setting up of the erstwhile Presidency College, included a course on human anatomy as part of medicine in its curriculum, reflecting a commitment to diverse academic pursuits.

Examples abound across the states where the old traditional madarsas have provided a space for elementary learning and access to housing and food. Mid-day meals were in place in madarsas long before the official nutrition programme in India came about — most madarsas are residential.

The Shaheen Academy operates over 60 branches of Intermediate Colleges across 13 states. Founded in 1989 in Bidar, it aims to integrate madarsa students into mainstream education. Over the years, many of its students have successfully gained admission to government medical colleges and secured placements in various other fields.

Similarly, in West Bengal, the Shalukpara Madrasah Ashraful Uloom, established in 1970, encourages its students to sit for state-level board examinations for both secondary and higher secondary education. This initiative aims to ensure that madarsa students are equipped with the qualifications needed for further academic and professional success.

Madarsas in West Bengal present a very different picture compared to the claims made by the NCPCR. They are categorised as junior, higher secondary and senior madarsas and broadly fall under two categories: Recognised madarsas and community-run Kariji madarsas. Approximately 614 recognised madrasas are affiliated with the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education, following nearly the same curriculum as the state board.

Our study based on the Unified District Information System for Education (U-DICE) challenges the stereotypes often associated with Madarsas — most Muslim children attend these institutions, only boys are enrolled, the focus is solely on Islamic education, religious texts dominate the course curriculum, and so on. Our study dispelled these myths based on facts and figures.

According to Census 2011, West Bengal has approximately 27 per cent Muslim population with a literacy rate of 68.74 per cent compared to the 77.08 per cent of the total population, indicating the predicament of the community on being lettered. These madarsas have educated many from the most disadvantaged Muslim families for generations. A sizeable number of these madarsas were established before Independence and their numbers have continued to grow in the decades since. Yet, students enrolled in madarsas make up a tiny fraction of the total enrolment in the education system in West Bengal.

In 2011-12, the total number of enrolments stood at 4,15,200. This increased to 5,21,523 by 2015-16 (25.60 per cent rise). By 2021, the number stood at 5,45,903. In 2011-12, 15,762 non-Muslim students were enrolled in recognised madarsas, out of which 12,069 were Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 3,693 were Scheduled Tribes (STs). This enrolment number further increased by 28.12 per cent in 2015-16 with 20,195 enrolments.

Our analysis finds that in 2011-12, enrolment was lowest at the primary level (0.66 per cent), peaking at 3 per cent in upper primary and 3.41 per cent in Secondary, but dipping slightly at the higher secondary level (2.5 per cent). By 2015-16, these figures rose, with 0.91 per cent at primary, around 4.5 per cent at upper primary, 5.18 per cent at secondary, and 3.93 per cent at higher secondary. However, 2020-21 saw a general decline in madarsa enrolment, with the highest concentration at the secondary level (4.45 per cent).

Another interesting pattern that emerged in West Bengal’s case, which previously has been identified by the Sachar Committee Report – is the gender parity in madarsa enrolment. In the case of enrolment of Muslim students, since 2006, more girls have been enrolled than boys. In 2011-12, the pattern continued in state-funded madarsas – 40 per cent of boys and 60 per cent of girls. In 2015-16, the percentage of Muslim boys’ enrolled dipped to 38 per cent and girls’ enrolment rose to 62 per cent.

By 2020-21, though the absolute number of enrolments as per gender remained in favour of girls, a small variation in the proportion was observed with boys’ enrolment rising to 40.4 per cent and girls’ dropping to 59.6 per cent. We are also trying to understand similar trends with non-Muslim students. In this regard too, the reverse gender gap is very much observable with a greater proportion of non-Muslim girls being enrolled in madarsas.

Madarsa graduates hold respected positions in fields such as medicine, and engineering, and even serve in the Indian Army, as these institutions are affiliated with recognised bodies in states. Dismissing madarsa education on the unfounded claim that it violates child rights would be a significant mistake as rightly pointed out by the Supreme Court. Instead, it ensures basic access to education for disadvantaged groups, protects India’s cultural diversity, and upholds the rights of minorities to manage their educational institutions.

Ahamed is National Research Coordinator, Pratichi Institute, Kolkata and Jana is assistant professor, St Xavier’s University, Kolkata