Amid protests from opposition members, Assam’s 126-member Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday to convert state madrasas into regular schools.
The Assam Repeal Bill of 2020 seeks to repeal the Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialization) Act of 1995 and the Assam Madrassa Education Act (Provincialization of Employee Services and Reorganization of Madrassa Educational Institutions) of 2018.
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The bill also seeks to convert 97 provincialized Sanskrit tols (learning centers) in study and research centers affiliated with a university of Sanskrit and ancient studies in western Nalbari of Assam as of January 2022.
State Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the bill was for government-run madrasas and there will be no steps to close or regulate private madrasas in Assam.
“All government madrasa institutes will become upper primary, upper secondary and upper secondary schools without change of status, salary, allowances and conditions of service of teaching and non-teaching staff,” he said.
Assam has 189 upper and upper secondary madrasas administered by the Assam Board of Secondary Education, and the Assam Council of Higher Secondary Education respectively. The state has 542 pre-senior, senior and degree Arab and madrasa colleges administered by the Madrasa State Board of Education.
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