: Weekly holidays at madrassas recognised by the Uttarakhand State Authority for Minority Education (USAME) are observed on Sundays instead of Fridays, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Wednesday.Students of a madrassa taking their lesson from their teacher (HT File Photo/Subrata Biswas)Speaking on the sidelines of a Police Commemoration Day event in Dehradun, Dhami said, “There should be a consistent system for everyone, and all educational institutions should move in the same direction”.The decision affects madrassas that have received formal recognition under the Uttarakhand State Authority for Minority Education, a regulatory body established in July. The authority replaced a dedicated madrassa board after legislation passed in August last year brought institutions run by Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi communities under a single state-monitored framework.“Since madrassas are now functioning as schools recognised by the education department, its rules and regulations will apply to them equally.

Institutions failing to comply with prescribed standards will not be allowed to operate,” Dhami explained.Surjit Singh Gandhi, chairman of the Uttarakhand Minority Education Authority, said the authority has granted recognition under the new law to 76 madrassas in the state, and the education department is currently processing another 114 accreditation applications.These 76 recognised institutions comprise 44 in Haridwar, 24 in Udham Singh Nagar, six in Dehradun, and two in Nainital must strictly adhere to state department guidelines, including the Sunday holiday rule.To be sure, there were 452 institutions registered under the now-abolished Madrasa Board.Uttarakhand, which was the first state in the country to enact the uniform civil code, has also been shutting down madrassas that are operating without approvals.Parag Madhukar Dhakate, secretary of the minority affairs department, said authorities sealed 250 unregistered madrassas during last year’s crackdown after discovering they were operating without registration and enrolling children from other states.