GUWAHATI: Assam’s BJP-led coalition government is “secularising” the state’s entire education system by deciding to operate the state-run madrasas like any other general educational institutes.
“The state Cabinet yesterday (Sunday) decided to turn the madrassas into general educational schools. We have 189 high madrassas. They have a subject on theology that carries 50 marks. Due to this, there is a difference between collegiate schools and high madrasas,” the state’s Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
He said in the light of this, the government had decided to remove the word “madrasa” from the 189 institutes and drop the subject on theology. They will be known as high schools, he said.
“These 189 madrasas have 90% general education and 10% religious education. They will now become secular. The Board of Secondary Education, Assam will not hold the high madrasa exam from 2022,” Sarma said.
In phase 2, he said the Cabinet decided that the state madrasa board would be dissolved from the declaration of results of the examination to be held in the 2021-22 academic year. Under the madrasa board, there are 542 institutes including Arabic colleges, title madrasas, senior madrasas and pre-senior madrasas. Their syllabus is prescribed by the Assam Higher Secondary Educational Council but they have a subject purely on Islam.
Sarma said the madrasa institutes’ academic and administrative authority would be transferred to the director of Secondary Education.
“The theological/Islamic courses will be withdrawn with effect from 1/4/2021. Their theological teachers will be imparted training so they can teach general education. Arabic colleges will be transformed into higher secondary schools. The Arabic Council will come under the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council,” the minister said, adding, “The pre-senior and senior madrasas will have SCERT curriculum.”
Sarma said the state government would bring a law in the next Assembly session, beginning on December 28, to repeal provisions in the Madrasa and Sanskrit Tols Act under which the madrasas were provincialised. The rest of the work can be done by amending rules and issuing notifications. New rules will be notified in the next three-four days, he said.
“Madrasa education in Assam was introduced in 1934 under government funding. We have taken a historical decision to secularise the state’s education system,” Sarma said.
The state government is also converting the Sanskrit “tols” (Sanskrit learning centres) to study centres of Indian history and ancient Indian culture. They will be affiliated to the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University and they will offer degree and diploma courses.
“There are 97 Sanskrit tols. Their character will not change completely as they will teach Indian history and ancient Indian culture. Assam will be the first state to introduce a degree course on the Indian civilisation,” Sarma added.