Question : Madarsas and Vedic Schools

(a) whether education being imparted by Madarsas and Vedic schools are exempted from the Right to Education Act, 2009;
(b) if so, whether the Government has put in place a scheme to provide quality education in Madarsas and if so, the total funds earmarked by the Government under the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEM) during the current year;
(c) whether such schemes also exist for Vedic schools in the country and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(d) the number of Madarsas identified under the scheme and whether it is a fact that some States propose to derecognise Madarsas education and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
(e) the steps taken or being taken by the Government to run minorities educational institutions without any hurdle?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 was amended with effect from 1st August 2012 to the effect that the provisions of the said Act shall apply to conferment of rights on children to free and compulsory education subject to the provisions of Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution of India and that nothing contained in the Act shall apply to Madrasas, Vedic Pathsalas and educational institutions primarily imparting religious instructions.
(b) The Central Government is running a Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEM) for the educational upliftment of the minority community. The objective of the scheme is to encourage traditional institutions like Madarsas and Maktabs by giving financial assistance to introduce modern subjects like science, mathematics, social studies, Hindi and English in their curriculum so that academic proficiency for classes I-XII is attainable for children studying in these institutions.. However, the scheme is implemented through the State Government. For the current year 2015-16 there is a budget provision of Rs. 375.50 crore for the Scheme for Providing Education to Madarsas/Minorities which includes SPQEM.
(c) The Ministry of Human Resource Development has established Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan (MSRVVP) in the year 1987 to preserve, conserve and develop the oral tradition of Vedic studies through Pathshalas as well as other means and institutions. For this purpose, the Pratishthan provides financial assistance to Vedic Pathashalas and Guru Shishya Parampara units towards honorarium to Ved teachers and stipend to students under the scheme of Preservation of Oral tradition of Vedic Recitation.
(d) The Scheme of SPQEM is a voluntary scheme and therefore, the financial assistance is extended to only those madarsas which introduce modern subjects in their curriculum as per the scheme guidelines. During the previous year 2014-15, a total of 11654 madarsas had been supported under the scheme. This Ministry has not received any information about derecognition of madarsa education by any State.
(e) The Government is taking several steps to ensure better education to minorities and running a number of schemes such as Scheme for Providing Quality Education in madarsas (SPQEM), Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (IDMI) and Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) etc. for the educational welfare of the minorities. The National Commission for Minority Education Institutions set up by the Government also helps to alleviate the difficulties faced by the religious Minority Communities in establishing and running their own educational institutions by looking into specific complaints regarding deprivation or violation of rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. It also grants Minority Status Certificate to educational institutions run by religious minority communities.

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