Mr Sarma, in October, had announced that the Madrassa Board in Assam would be dissolved and all state-run madrasas would be turned into general schools.
On Monday, Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma introduced a bill to repeal the Assam Madrassas Education (Provincialisation) Act of 1995. The three-day winter session of the state’s assembly commenced today.
“We’ve introduced a Bill whereby all Madrassas will be converted into institutes of general education & no madrassa will be established by govt in future. We’re happy to introduce this Bill to bring truly secular curriculum in education system,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said after the commencement of the winter session.
We've introduced a Bill whereby all Madrassas will be converted into institutes of general education & no madrassa will be established by govt in future. We're happy to introduce this Bill to bring truly secular curriculum in education system: Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma https://t.co/M9mButrXYG pic.twitter.com/Xj7z41Ux8q
— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2020
The Assam minister, while talking to the media ahead of the commencement of the Winter Session earlier today, said that once the bill is passed, the practice of running madrassa by the state government will come to an end. The practice was initiated by the Muslim League government in pre-Independence Assam, Mr Sarma added.
Mr Sarma, in October, had announced that the Madrassa Board in Assam would be dissolved and all state-run madrassas would be turned into general schools.
The government does not intend to shut down the private madrasas, the minister had clarified.
Mr Sarma had also announced that the Assam government would also close down the Sanskrit tols (schools).
The decision of the government, as per Himanta Biswa Sarma, was based on research on madrasas.
“A survey conducted by a Gauhati University professor, who happens to be a Muslim, found that the parents and guardians of most of the students of the madrassas are not aware of the fact that their children are not taught the regular subjects but are imparted lessons mostly in theology,” Mr Sarma said.
“The government-run madrasas in Assam would either be converted into regular schools or they would be closed down. Teachers would be transferred to general schools after issuance of a government notification next month,” he had further told media on October 17.
“In order to bring uniformity, teaching the Quran at the cost of government exchequer could not be allowed to continue,” he had said.
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