Daily recital of national anthem made mandatory in UP madrasas even as Yogi assumes charge as CM again

In what appears to be a curious case of “event planning” in the run up to the oath taking ceremony of UP CM designate Yogi Adityanath, UP Board of Madrasa Education (UPME) – a state education board that serves educational institutions dedicated to the study of Islam – has made recital of the national anthem mandatory along with other prayers in all madrasas.

Notably, the recitation of the national anthem has not been made mandatory for educational institutions affiliated with the UP Board of High School and Intermediate Education yet.

Apart from Independence day and Republic Day, singing of the national anthem has been considered optional rather than mandatory in educational institutions.

However, the UPME, which was established in 2004, said the decision was taken “to instill patriotism in madrasa students too, so that they know India's history and culture.”

Currently, there are 560 permanently approved madrasas (at the Alia level) in Uttar Pradesh.

UPME chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed told the media that apart from making singing of national anthem mandatory, biometric systems will be installed in the new session to record the attendance of teachers along with a facility for the online registration of students.

For recruitment of madrasa teachers, Javed said Madrasa Teachers’ Eligibility Test (MTET) will be conducted.

Javed contended that madrasas are afflicted with nepotism.

“Nepotism has become the order of the day in teachers’ recruitment. This is why the board has decided to make MTET mandatory, but the selection process will be finalised by the management. A formal proposal will be sent to the government soon,” added Javed.

It is worth recalling here that the Yogi Adityanath government in 2018 decided to cancel the registration of a madrasa in Maharajganj district after a cleric allegedly prevented the students from singing the national anthem on Independence Day.

Experts believe that making the recitation of the national anthem mandatory in madrasas violates the spirit of the Constitution.

While Article 30(1) of the Constitution says that all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice, Article 30(2) says that the government should not discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language, while giving aid.