No new madrassa will be given any grant by the Uttar Pradesh government, the state cabinet has decided.
UP minister of state for minority welfare Danish Azad Ansari told news agency PTI on Wednesday that the decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a day earlier.
The minister said that the madrassas currently receiving government grants will continue to get it, but no new beneficiary will be included in the list.
The decision came days after the singing of the national anthem was made compulsory at all madrassas in the BJP-ruled state.
Asked about the reason behind this decision, Mr Ansari said that at present 560 madrassas are getting government grants in the state.
"It is a big number. The focus of the government is on providing quality education in madrassas. That is why now no new madrassa will be included in this list," the minister said.
On whether the restriction could be lifted in the future, the minister said, "This is what is now. What will happen later will be seen later." There are a total of 16,461 madrassas in the state, out of which 560 are receiving government grants.
Meanwhile, Mohsin Raza, chairman of the State Haj Committee and a former state minister, welcomed the decision of the state government.
Mr Raza claimed that the previous governments had given recognition to madrassas and included them in the grant list, but they were not able to provide quality education.
He alleged that the previous SP and BSP governments included madrassas in the grant list to benefit those they favoured, but this did not do any good to madrassa education.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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