Uttarakhand government to relax mandatory affiliation norms for madrasas

The Uttarakhand government on Wednesday decided to relax norms mandating the affiliation of madrasas and minority educational institutions with the state education board, approving a proposal to amend the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act 2025. The Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet also approved the purchase of nine more buses for the state transport department, taking the total beyond the earlier plan of 100.

The Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet decided to amend the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act 2025, which had made affiliation with the Uttarakhand State Education Board mandatory for all madrasas and minority educational institutions. Under the new decision, the affiliation will apply only to institutions running classes from 9th to 12th standards. The decision will benefit nearly 400 madrasas running classes up to Standard 8, as now they will have to seek affiliation with their respective district education committees.

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In October 2025, the Dhami government notified the Uttarakhand Minority Education Act 2025 under the Department of Minority Welfare. The Act, as claimed by the government, was designed to facilitate and promote the recognition and academic excellence of educational institutions.

Under the act, all minority institutions were required to obtain affiliation with the Uttarakhand Board of School Education, Ramnagar, from the academic session 2026-27. However, the management of these educational institutions requested the government to keep middle schools away from the law, following which the Uttarakhand cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the law.

Of the 452 madrasas in the state, more than 400 fall in the middle school category, offering classes from 1 to 8. As per the cabinet decision, these madrasas will now have to seek affiliation from the District Level Education Committee or a competent authority as designated by the state government. However, institutions conducting classes from 9 to 12 standards will continue to be mandatorily affiliated with the Uttarakhand Board of School Education, Ramnagar. The cabinet also approved the promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Act.

In another important decision, the state cabinet approved the state transport department’s proposal to purchase 109 buses in light of the reduced GST on vehicle purchase. Earlier, the government had permitted the transport department to purchase only 100 buses. However, in view of the Centre’s decision to reduce GST from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, the cabinet has now allowed the purchase of 109 buses instead of the original 100.

In yet another decision, the cabinet approved raising the upper age limit for the recruitment of foresters from 21 to 35 years, while enhancing the educational qualification from high school to graduation. Besides these, the Dhami cabinet cleared around 13 more proposals of various departments.