Uttarakhand Madarsa Board: The Dhami government of Uttarakhand has taken another big step. After forced conversions and Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the government has now implemented a new law abolishing the Madrassa Board. This decision is being considered in political circles as the next big step in BJP’s ‘Hindutva politics’. Actually, ‘Minority Education Bill 2025’ was passed in the monsoon session of Uttarakhand Assembly. This bill was approved by the Cabinet in August and now on October 6, Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (Retd) has given his assent to it. With this this bill has now become law.
After the Governor’s approval, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote on social media platform Now after the implementation of this law, all the madrassas and minority educational institutions of the state will be bound to take recognition from the Uttarakhand Education Board.
Uttarakhand became the first state where Madrasa Education Board was abolished
The Uttarakhand government has approved the ‘Minority Education Act 2025’, making it fully a law. This law will be implemented from July 1, 2026. Under this, not only madrassas but all minority educational institutions will come under its purview. The government says that the objective of this law is to provide equal and quality education to every child of the state so that uniformity and transparency can be brought in the education system. With this move, Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country, where Madrasa Education Board has been abolished.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that this new law will increase accountability and transparency in the education system, which will directly benefit the students. At the same time, former Chief Minister Harish Rawat opposed this decision, saying that this step can slow down the process of modernization of madrassa education and create challenges for minority institutions.
What will change with this law:
-The new law of Uttarakhand government is going to come into effect from July 1, 2026. After its implementation, Madrasa Education Board Act 2016 and Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules 2019 will be abolished. Now not only madrassas but educational institutions of all minority communities in the state will get the status of minority institution. Earlier this status was limited only to madrassas, but now schools of Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi communities will also be included in it.
According to the government, a new authority will be created which will work to give recognition to all minority educational institutions. Every institution will be required to get recognition from this authority by July 1, 2026, otherwise they will be closed. Along with this, now studies in all madrassas and minority schools will be conducted as per the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and New Education Policy (NEP 2020). Earlier, Madrasas had their own separate board which decided the curriculum, but now the Madrasa Board will be abolished and the same curriculum will be taught in these institutions which is applicable in other schools of the state.
Opinion of government and opposition:
Uttarakhand government is considering this new law as a major reform. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that problems like irregularities in scholarship distribution, irregularities in mid-day meal and lack of transparency were being seen in the madrassas of the state for many years. Dhami said that with this new law the education system will become more clean, accountable and of quality. Besides, now the government will also get the right to monitor minority educational institutions and issue necessary guidelines, which will improve the entire system.