SCPCR tells Education department & DM to act strictly against unregistered Madarsas
Tuesday, 30 JULY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Geeta Khanna has asked the Education department and Dehradun district magistrate Sonika to enforce strict measures against the unregistered Madarsas in Dehradun. She stated this in response to a report that revealed 30 students suffered from food poisoning and required emergency hospitalisation after consuming a meal at the Madarsa located at the Azad colony near ISBT area of Dehradun.
Informing about this, Khanna said that she became aware of the incident through a newspaper report detailing the hospitalisation of the students due to food poisoning following dinner at the Madarsa. Subsequently, she conducted an inspection of the Madarsa accompanied by a team of the commission.
She informed that during the inspection, she asked the Madarsa administration to present their affiliation certificate. Khanna stated that during the inspection, it was discovered that the Madarsa in question was unregistered and lacked documentation of affiliation from both the Madarsa board and the Education department. Further, it was found that the establishment where the Madarsa is currently situated is unauthorised. In addition, Khanna noted that there were about 250 students enrolled in the Madarsa, with over 60 students from other States. During the inspection, she observed inhumane conditions where 80 students were cramped in a single room with inadequate ventilation. She also observed unhygienic conditions in the Madarsa , which can increase the risk of infections among students. It was also noted that children as young as three years old are enrolled at the Madarsa, making them particularly vulnerable to infections due to the unhygienic environment. Apart from this, it was also observed that there were no fire extinguishers at the Madarsa, she said. Consequently, following the inspection, she has asked the police and district magistrate to identify and take stringent measures against the unregistered Madarsas in Dehradun as soon as possible.
