Uttarakhand Assembly clears Minority Education Bill 2025 extending status to 5 more communities

Uttarakhand Assembly today cleared the Minority Education Bill 2025 which aims to extend the minority status benefits to institutions run by the Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi communities. Currently, the status is only granted to the Muslim community.

With the implementation of the Uttarakhand Minority Education Bill 2025 , the Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board Act, 2016, and the Uttarakhand Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules, 2019, will be repealed, from July 1, 2026.

“Now, educational institutions of the Sikh, Jain, Christian, Buddhist, and Parsi communities will also receive transparent recognition. This will not only strengthen the quality of education but also ensure the protection of students' interests,” said state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a post.

While sharing the news about the passing of bill in the legislative assembly, Uttarakhand CM remarked that while the recognition was limited to one community, serious issues such as irregularities in the distribution of central scholarships, discrepancies in the mid-day meal programme, and a lack of transparency in management have been evident in the madrasa education system for years.

Uttarakhand Minority Education Bill: Termination of recognition

The Act will make way for the study of Gurumukhi and Pali languages in the recognised minority educational institutions. Under the bill, an authority will be formed and it will be mandatory for the educational institutions established by all minority communities to obtain recognition from it. This authority will work to facilitate and promote educational excellence in these institutions to provide quality education and promote educational development of the children of these communities.

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Additionally, the Uttarakhand government will have the authority to effectively monitor the operations of minority educational institutions and issue necessary directives. “Undoubtedly, this bill will provide a new direction to education while further strengthening educational excellence and social harmony in the state,” Dhami added.

Furthermore, the bill provides for the grant of recognition to a minority educational institution upon fulfillment of certain conditions by the applicant. It also has a provision of termination of recognition in case the institution violates the regulations or misuses funds received from fees, donations, grants or any other funding source.