Indian state government causes upset through exclusion of religious school-educated students from definition of school-going children

• Maharashtra’s social justice minister stated that any child obtaining full-time religious education would not be counted as educated or in-school, including the children enrolled in one of the state’s 1890 registered madrassas.
• After politicians from multiple political parties called the declaration unconstitutional, the minister argued that the designation has been one followed by previous governments.
• Last month, the government instated a rule requiring madrassas to teach math, science, social science, and English in order to be eligible for government grants.

“The decision is against the Constitution. A number of students who studied in madrassas have successfully competed in competitive exams. The government must roll back the decision.”

Read the full story at The Hindu.

(Image Credit: Vivek Bendre/The Hindu)