Dehradun: Bills of Uttarakhand Minority Educational Institutions, 2025 were approved by the State Cabinet on Sunday, which was for tabling at the upcoming monsoon assembly session to be held in the summer capital in Gerain in Chamoli district on Tuesday in the upcoming monsoon assembly session. The bill wants to expand the minority situation in non-Muslim educational institutions in the state.
So far, the minority situation for educational institutions has been limited to the Muslim community. The Sikh, Jain, Christian, Buddhist and Parsi communities will also be eligible to establish and run institutions with minority recognition under the proposed law, which was said by the cabinet headed by CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Officials said that the law is designed to create a transparent and modern process to provide such a situation by ensuring quality benchmarks in education.
The bill provides for the construction of Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority, which will serve as a nodal body to process and recognize applications. Authority will also be responsible for monitoring the institutes to ensure compliance with the standards set by Uttarakhand Board of School Education and to maintain fairness in student evaluation.
A senior state government official said on the condition of oblivion, “Once implemented, Uttarakhand will become the first state in the country to bring it to a law that not only grants minority status, but also leaves clear provisions to ensure educational excellence, accountability and protection of constitutional rights of minority communities.”
Under the new structure, recognition will be mandatory for all educational institutions established by Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain or Parsi communities. Institutions will need to be registered under the Society Act, Trust Act or Companies Act, and their properties and bank accounts should be maintained in the name of the institution.
According to officials, the law will streamline a procedure that so far there is a lack of uniformity and it has been brought under the single accountable authority. Although it wants to protect the autonomy of minority institutions, the government will maintain powers to oversee its functioning and release directions if necessary.
“Bill balances freedom with accountability. Emphasis will remain on transparency and quality in education, but without violating the institutional rights of minority communities,” the official said.
Officials further said that the law not only expected to strengthen the recognition process, but also increases the overall quality of education in minority -run institutions, which benefit both students and communities.
