West Bengal's action against Madrasas upsets parents

The government of West Bengal has identified 252 madrasas that do not get any financial aid or grants from the government and hence do not have a valid recognition. Parents and school authorities have raised questions over how the institutions were inspected and put into different categories, reports Pritha Roy Choudhury.

The action was taken after a statewide exercise by the West Bengal government started. This examined the madrasa management, teaching staff, student enrolment, infrastructure, funding and recognition status, according to Pritha’s report.

The institutions inspected are spread across several districts in West Bengal, where Malda reports the highest number at 44, followed by North Dinajpur with 38 and South 24 Parganas with 32. Murshidabad and Nadia have 25 institutions each.

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West Bengal Madrasa list leaves families uncertain

Pritha Roy Choudhury reports that the government action has affected families whose children attend these madrasas without a recognition. In South 24 Parganas, a parent said he might have to move his Class 3 son to another school which is far away from home because of this irregularity.

The parent told Pritha that the family preferred madrasa education because students under the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education curriculum could study subjects like Bengali, English, Urdu and Arabic and other subjects under a roof. 

The report also found confusion over the status of some institutions. S K Samad, secretary of Durgapur Jamia Arabia Darul Uloom Siddikia Anwaria Senior Madrasah in Namkhana, said the institution had been recognised since 2001 and currently had 183 students in Classes 1 to 8. He confirmed that the management had requested another inspection to inspect the status.

However, according to Pritha, the institution does not appear in the government’s list of 252 madrasas. This raises questions about how institutions and their recognition status have been categorised till date.

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Inspections raise questions over madrasa recognition

According to Pritha Roy Choudhury’s report, inspection teams have examined infrastructure, teacher availability, student enrolment and records of the institutions. Sufiyan Paik, president of the Madrasa Teachers Association, said officials have found some institutions without proper infrastructure, with absent teachers or closed during inspections. 

Paik also said some recognition records show that addresses did not match the actual locations. Pritha Roy Choudhury also reports that parents of students enrolled in listed institutions are now considering alternatives. Reports also suggest that 366 institutions that have come up between 2014 and 2025 have received proper recognition. 

The total number of recognised unaided madrasas is 601, other than the 17 recognised Urdu-medium madrasas. The report also showed that there are around 500 Madrasa Shiksha Kendras and more than 1,700 madrasas across the state.