‘Madrasas in Assam will be dissolved, to operate as regular schools’: Himanta Biswa Sarma

The Assam Cabinet has on Sunday approved a proposal to close down all close all government-run Madrasas and Sanskrit tols in the State.

As per the cabinet decision, the State Madrasa Board shall stand dissolved from the declaration of the result of examination to be held in 2021-22 and all their academic and administrative authority will be transferred to the Directorate of Secondary Education, Assam.

Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday during a press meet said that all Madrassa and High-Madrassas running under the State Madrassa Education Board, Assam will be transferred under the Directorate of Secondary Education Council and the names Madrassa will be removed and renamed as high schools and colleges.

Meanwhile, teachers who teach theological courses in the Madrasas will be trained to teach general subjects in the schools.

The word high madrassa will be removed along with the theological course from 189 schools. All theological courses will be discontinued with effect from January 2021. SEBA will conduct the last High Madrassa exam.

All high madrassas will be known as high schools for schools under SEBA.

Meanwhile, Arabic colleges will be converted to Higher Secondary Schools and all authorities of the Arabic Council will be transferred to Assam Higher Secondary Education Council and general council education will be started in those institutions.

On the other hand, pre-senior and senior Madrassa will follow the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) curriculum.

At present, there are 4 Arabic Madrassas, 138 senior Madrassas and 230 pre-senior Madrassas in Assam. All these 542 institutions had two syllabus, one is purely theological.