Uttarakhand constitutes minority education authority will replace Madrasa Board

Dehradun, Feb 3 (PTI) The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday constituted the State Minority Education Authority, which will replace the Madrasa Board, whose term ends in July this year.
     Parag Madhukar Dhakate, special secretary to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, issued a notification in this regard. According to the notification, Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (retd) has approved the formation of the authority and the appointment of 12 members, including the chairman.
     He said that all the members are from the minority community, and Surjit Singh Gandhi has been appointed as the chairman. Rakesh Jain, Syed Ali Hamid, Pema Tenzin, Elba Madrile, Robina Aman, Gurmeet Singh, social worker Rajendra Bisht and retired officer Chandrashekhar Bhatt have been included as members.
     In addition, the Directors General of School Education, State Council of Educational Research and Training and Minority Welfare have also been included as ex officio members of the authority.
     Last year, in August, the Uttarakhand Minority Education Bill-2025 was passed, which received the Governor's assent in October. Under this, the Madrasa Board is to be abolished in the state from July 2026, and there is a provision to constitute the State Minority Education Authority and bring all minority educational institutions under its purview.
     The new law grants minority educational institution status not only to the Muslim community but also to other minority communities in the state—Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi communities. Earlier, the recognition of minority institutions was limited only to the Muslim community.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)