Community members fear that ending government grants will hit hundreds of madrasas and leave thousands of poor Muslim students struggling to continue their education
NEW DELHI/DEHRADUN — The BJP government in Uttarakhand has decided to stop grants to 456 Arabic madrasas from the 2027–28 financial year, a move that has caused concern among Muslim organisations, madrasa managers and education activists who fear it will affect the education of thousands of poor Muslim children across the state.
The decision was approved during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami after the state government dissolved the Uttarakhand Madrasa Board following the implementation of the Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority in July.
Under the new arrangement, all matters related to the recognition, administration and monitoring of madrasas will now be handled by the State Minority Education Authority instead of the Madrasa Board.
The government has also approved a proposal to remove the budget allocation that had been used for grants to aided madrasas, saying the previous system was no longer required after the abolition of the Madrasa Board.
The decision has drawn criticism from members of the Muslim community, who say the withdrawal of financial support will place an additional burden on institutions that mainly serve children from poor and economically weaker families.
Many educationists fear that several madrasas may struggle to meet their day-to-day expenses without government assistance. They say these institutions provide education to children whose families often cannot afford private schooling, and cutting financial support could affect access to education for many students.
According to the state government’s decision, the 456 Arabic madrasas that had been receiving government grants will no longer receive financial assistance from the beginning of the 2027–28 financial year.
Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister, Banshidhar Tiwari, said the decision followed the dissolution of the Madrasa Board.
“The Madrasa Board no longer exists. Therefore, the grant system and the budget linked to it have also become irrelevant. The Cabinet has approved the proposal to discontinue the budget provision for madrasa grants from the financial year 2027–28,” he said.
The state government has maintained that the new system is aimed at reorganising minority education and improving its administration. It said the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act and new recognition rules have been introduced, under which the State Minority Education Authority has been established.
Meanwhile, Dr Prag Madhukar Dhakate, Special Secretary of the Minority Board, said madrasas would continue to receive benefits after joining the new authority.
“The grants that were earlier provided through the Madrasa Board have been stopped. Madrasas that become affiliated with the Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority will receive facilities available under the Government of India’s U-DISE scheme through the authority,” he said.
However, members of the Muslim community remain unconvinced. They argue that assistance available under the U-DISE scheme cannot immediately replace the direct financial support that many aided madrasas depended on for their daily functioning.
Community representatives say the grants were used to meet essential expenses, including teachers’ salaries, educational materials and the running costs of institutions. Without that support, they fear many madrasas could face financial difficulties, forcing them to reduce services or seek donations to survive.
The decision has also renewed concerns over the future of Islamic educational institutions in BJP-ruled states, where several policies relating to madrasas have been introduced in recent years. Muslim leaders argue that instead of strengthening institutions serving disadvantaged communities, governments should provide greater educational support to ensure that children from poor families are not left behind.
With the grants set to end from 2027–28, questions are now being raised about how the affected madrasas will manage their finances and whether alternative government schemes will be enough to prevent disruption to the education of thousands of Muslim students in Uttarakhand.
