US military officially ends mission of controversial floating pier off Gaza coast

New Delhi, Sep 12: Madrasas are "unsuitable" places for children to receive "proper education" and the education imparted there is "not comprehensive" and is against the provisions of the Right to Education Act, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has told the Supreme Court.

The child rights body told the top court that children, who are not in formal schooling system, are deprived of their fundamental right to elementary education, including entitlements such as midday meal, uniform etc.

The NCPCR said madrassas merely teaching from a few NCERT books in the curriculum is a "mere guise" in the name of imparting education and does not ensure that the children are receiving formal and quality education.

"A madrassa is not only a unsuitable/unfit place to receive 'proper' education but also in absence of entitlements as provided under Sections 19, 21,22, 23, 24, 25, and 29 of the RTE Act," it said.

"Further, madrasas do not only render an unsatisfactory and insufficient model for education but also have an arbitrary mode of working which is wholly in absence of a standardised curriculum and functioning," the NCPCR said in its written submissions filed before the top court.

The child rights body stated that due to the absence of provisions of the RTE Act, 2009, the madrassas are also deprived of entitlement as in Section 21 of the Act of 2009.

"A madrassa works in an arbitrary manner and runs in an overall violation of the Constitutional mandate, RTE Act and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. It cannot be overlooked that a child getting education in such an Institution will be devoid of basic knowledge of school curriculum which is provided in a school.

"A school is defined under Section 2(n) of the RTE Act, 2009, which means any recognised school imparting elementary education. A madrassa being out of this definition has no right to compel children or their families to receive madrassa education," the NCPCR said.

It said most of the madrassas fail to provide a holistic environment to students, including planning social events, or extracurricular activities for 'experiential learning.

In a breather to about 17 lakh madrassa students, the apex court on April 5 had stayed an order of the Allahabad High Court that scrapped the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 calling it "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism.

Observing that the issues raised in the petitions merit closer reflection, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had issued notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and others on the pleas against the high court order.

The top court said had the high court "prima facie" misconstrued the provisions of the Act, which does not provide for any religious instruction.

The high court had on March 22 declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state government to accommodate students in the formal schooling system.

The high court had declared the law ultra vires on a writ petition filed by advocate Anshuman Singh Rathore.

It had said the state has "no power to create a board for religious education or to establish a board for school education only for a particular religion and philosophy associated with it."

"We hold that the Madarsa Act, 2004, is violative of the principle of secularism, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution," the high court had said.

The petitioner had challenged the constitutionality of the UP Madarsa Board as well as objected to the management of madrassas by the Minority Welfare Department instead of the education department.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees says six of its employees are among the at least 18 people killed in a recent Israeli aerial assault on a school in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement released on Thursday, UNRWA said Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes targeting the UN-run al-Jaouni school in the Nuseirat refugee camp resulted in "the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident” since the occupying regime waged a genocidal war on Gaza more than 11 months ago.

"Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people," it added.

UNRWA also said the al-Jaouni school, home to around 12,000 displaced Palestinians- mainly women and children, has been hit five times since the Israeli aggression began.

“No one is safe in Gaza. No one is spared,” it emphasized. “Schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, they are not a target.”

In an X post, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the deaths demonstrated “very dramatic violations of the international humanitarian law and the total absence of an effective protection of civilians.”

Meanwhile, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency's staff who were killed had been providing support to families sheltering in the al-Jaouni school.

“Humanitarian staff, premises & operations have been blatantly & unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” he asserted.

Lazzarini further noted that at least 220 UNRWA employees have been killed during the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

The Israeli military claimed that the school had been used by members of the Hamas resistance group to “plan and execute” attacks against the occupation troops.

However, a survivor said the section of the school that was hit by Israel had been “dedicated only to women.”

“All of a sudden there was a huge explosion … Women and children were blown to pieces. We rushed to see our children but found them torn to pieces,” he told Al Jazeera.

Another survivor said she had lost all of her six children in the Israeli attack, adding, “What crime, what wrong did those innocent children do?”

Israel waged its brutal Gaza offensive on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 95,029 others. 

In response to a surge in dengue cases, the Karnataka government has declared dengue an epidemic, laying out specific responsibilities for the public and government agencies, and empowering officials to take necessary actions.

A recent gazette notification announced the amendment of the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Regulations, 2020, now titled the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Regulations, 2024. These updated regulations, effective from August 31, mandate comprehensive measures to prevent mosquito breeding, which is a primary cause of dengue.

The regulations specify that owners, builders, managers, institutions, and occupants of any land, building, household, or public space—such as parks, water tanks, or playgrounds—are responsible for enforcing measures to prevent mosquito breeding. These measures include:

• Covering water storage containers and tanks.
• Proper disposal of solid waste to prevent water accumulation.
• Ensuring that unused tanks, pits, burrows, or buildings under construction do not collect water.

These requirements apply to both private and government-owned properties, as well as semi-government establishments.

Under the amended regulations, the Chief Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in Bengaluru and the Deputy Commissioners of each district outside BBMP jurisdiction have been designated as the competent authorities to oversee the implementation of these measures. They have the authority to inspect properties, issue notices, and enforce compliance to prevent the spread of dengue.

As part of the enforcement, the authorities have the power to inspect lands, buildings, water tanks, parks, playgrounds, and other areas periodically. If they find any collection of water that could serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, they are authorized to issue notices requiring the responsible parties to eliminate the water and destroy the breeding sites. Failure to comply can result in a penalty of up to Rs 2,000. An additional 50% of the initial penalty may be levied for each week of continued non-compliance after a notice has been served.

In a proactive step, the BBMP and the state health department have launched a pilot study, installing 120 ovitraps in Gopalpura to help curb the spread of dengue.

As of September 2, Karnataka has reported a total of 25,408 dengue cases, resulting in 12 deaths.