Lucknow: On August 4, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath chaired a cabinet meeting in which the state government discussed amendments to the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board Act, 2004, in line with the Supreme Court’s directives. The proposed changes include discontinuing the recognition of Kamil and Fazil degrees awarded by the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board.
🚨 BIG DECISION by the Yogi Adityanath Government
Madrasas in Uttar Pradesh will NO LONGER be ALLOWED to confer 'Kamil' (UG equivalent) and 'Fazil' (PG equivalent) degrees.
=> Education under the UP Madrasa Board will now be limited to Class 12 (Aalim) level. pic.twitter.com/13Mn1bMVFU
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) August 5, 2026
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Minority Welfare Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar confirmed that the proposal would invalidate Kamil and Fazil degrees previously awarded by madrasas under the state board.
Kamil is a three-year programme in Arabic, Persian, and Islamic studies that was earlier treated as equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree (BA). Fazil, a two-year advanced course pursued after Kamil, was considered equivalent to a Master’s degree (MA).
The move follows the Supreme Court’s November 2024 judgment, which upheld the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board Act, 2004, while ruling that the Board cannot confer higher education qualifications such as Kamil and Fazil. The apex court held that these qualifications fall outside the regulatory framework of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and, therefore, cannot be treated as equivalent to university degrees.
The verdict overturned the Allahabad High Court’s earlier ruling, which had declared the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Act, 2004, unconstitutional and violative of the principle of secularism. A bench led by then Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud observed that the High Court had erred in striking down the legislation, noting that the objective of the Act was to standardise the level of education imparted in madrasas rather than undermine the constitutional principle of secularism.
Separately, in June 2026, the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board withdrew the recognition of 465 self-financed madrasas across the state as part of its regulatory measures.
