Assam, Dec 28: Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to introduce a Bill to repeal the Provincialisation of Madrassa on Monday. The bill will be introduced to stop the practice of running Madrassa by the Government in Assam. This practice has been started by the Muslim League government in pre-Independence Assam.
BJP Minister took tweeter to share the info and wrote “Today I shall introduce a Bill to repeal the Provincialisation of Madrassa. Once the Bill is passed, the practice of running Madrassa by the Government in Assam will come to an end, a practice which was started by the Muslim League govt in pre-Independence Assam.”
Today I shall introduce a Bill to repeal Provincialisation of Madrassa. Once the Bill is passed, the practice of running Madrassa by the Government in Assam will come to an end, a practice which was started by Muslim League govt in pre-Independence Assam.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 28, 2020
Two weeks ago, Sarma said that the state government has decided to make ‘education secular’ and 198 high madrasas and 542 other madrasas in the state will operate as any other general educational institute and will not give admission to students for theological studies.
Sarma’s reaction comes a day after the Assam cabinet approved the proposal to close down government-run madrassas and Sanskrit tols (schools).
Terming the closure of the government-run madrassas in Assam a historic step, Sarma said the decision was taken to secularise the entire educational system in the state.
The State Madrassa Education Board will be dissolved next year and the staff will be utilized and there would be no change in the service conditions of the employees till retirement.
All theological courses in the madrassas, including the study of the Holy Quran, Hadith, and other aspects of Islamic Studies will be discontinued from April 1, 2021, and the teachers taking theological classes will be trained and engaged in the teaching of other subjects under the general educational system.
The bill which would ensure the closure of all government-run madrassas and Sanskrit schools will be introduced during the upcoming winter session of the state Assembly.
In October, Sarma had said that the Assam government spends Rs 260 crore annually on 610 state-run madrassas across the state. He had also announced that the State Madrassa Education Board, Assam would be dissolved.
While Sanskrit tols would be handed over to Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University, the government-run madrassas would be converted to high schools.
