Assam govt to shut down all govt-run Madrasas & Sanskrit Tols

February 12: The Assam government is contemplating to shut down all government-run Madrasas as well as Sanskrit Tols in the state. State Education Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government Madrasas and Sanskrit Tols will be upgraded and converted to High schools and Higher Secondary schools very soon. The Minister was speaking in a programme at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Sarma, however, made it clear that only government-run religious schools are being shut down and no Madrassas run by mosques, Sanskrit schools run by non-govt organisations would be closed down. He further clarified that abolishing the State Madrassa Education Board and Assam Sanskrit Board, their academic duties will be handed over to the Board of Secondary Education (SEBA). He also said the teachers working in the Madrassas and Sanskrit Tols will not lose their jobs.

The minister said that he wanted to “mainstream” madrasas and Sanskrit tols and introduce modern technical learning like computers in these institutions. Sarma’s announcement came 5 months after he had asked madrasas to shift their weekly off-day from Friday to Sunday similar to what other educational institutions follow.

Dr. Sarma said, “We have decided to close down the Madrasas and Sanskrit tols because we don’t want the government institutions to provide religious education.” It needs mention here that Assam has over 700 madrasas at present under the State Madrasa Education Board.