Recent scrutiny by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights revealed distressing conditions within an unregistered madrasa in Chandigarh.
The apparent disregard for the welfare of children by the Chandigarh Administration has emerged as a cause for concern. Recent scrutiny by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights revealed distressing conditions within an unregistered Madrasa in Chandigarh. Despite being a ‘Smart City’ – a Union Territory and the capital of two significant states, local officials seemed unaware of the troubling realities within this institution.
Even after the NCPCR’s visit and exposure of the dire conditions in the Madrasa, the Chandigarh Administration appeared oblivious to the potential serious impact it could have on the vulnerable children there. Priyank Kanoongo, Chairman of the NCPCR, shared troubling findings in a detailed interview with the Sunday Guardian.
On December 26th, the NCPCR’s visit to a Madrasa in Chandigarh unveiled a distressing reality: rampant physical abuse inflicted upon the children. NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo led the inspection personally at Madrasa Arabia Faizul Islam, meticulously documenting the deplorable conditions. The shared video from the inspection revealed shocking truths—the revelation that even three ‘Hindu kids’ were compelled to study the Quran and Qaida among the 300-plus children attending daily was particularly distressing.
The NCPCR’s findings exposed the minors’ ordeal of enduring physical abuse, evident from the telltale marks on their fingers showcased in the shared video. Kanoongo highlighted the plight of over a dozen children hailing from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh who faced such mistreatment. They were being coerced to abandon their dreams of pursuing careers in medicine or engineering, forcibly directed towards the path of becoming muftis.
More alarming was the revelation that this Madrasa received a Mid-Day meal, a fact seemingly unknown to the Director of School Education.
Set in an urban locale, the Madrasa lacked fundamental facilities such as a library or a computer-equipped learning lab. Operational since 1991, it catered to basic education for grades 1 to 8, apparently without official government sanction or recognition.
The NCPCR’s visit aimed to unravel the truth, shedding light on the distressing situation within the Madrasa. Additionally, the NCPCR discovered 38 similar unregistered Madrasas in Punjab, including one on Siswan Road, Mohali, where children from Nuh and Mewat were deprived of essential schooling.
Priyank Kanoongo emphasized the legal obligation of providing four hours of school education in Madrasas. He stressed the necessity of establishing Special Training centres within Madrasas to align with the current education program. Kanoongo expressed profound dismay at the Chandigarh Administration’s seemingly indifferent stance toward these innocent children.
In a conversation with Chandigarh Director of School Education, Harsuhinder Singh Brar, he remarked, “If parents are unwilling to send their children to ‘Special Training Centres,’ our options are limited.” Regarding the presence of the Mid-day Meal in an unregistered Madrasa, he asserted that their staffs were aware of it. Brar assured that the department was diligently compiling a student list, preparing to submit a comprehensive report to the NCPCR soon.”