New Delhi: The BJP government of Assam has taken a big decision. Minister of State Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Thursday that the state government was going to close all government madrasas in Assam. He said that there is no provision for religious education with public money, so now madrasas will not be run with government money. Sarma said that a notification will be issued on this order next month.
Speaking to reporters, Sarma said, “No religious educational institution will be allowed to work with government money. We will issue a notification in November and it will be implemented with immediate effect. We have nothing to say about privately run madrasas. “
Talking to news agency ANI, the minister said, “In my opinion, the teaching of the Quran cannot be done at the cost of government money. If we have to do this then we should also teach both the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. So we bring uniformity Want and stop this practice. ‘
Soon after this statement, AIUDF supremo and Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal said that if the BJP-led state government shut down the madrasas run by the administration, his party would reopen them after coming to power in next year’s assembly elections .
Ajmal said, “You cannot stop madrasas. After coming to power, we will take a decision in the cabinet to reopen these 50-60 year old madrasas if this current government forcibly closes them. “
In February, Sarma announced that the government is preparing to close not only government-run madrasas, but also government-run Sanskrit schools. He later justified this by saying that religious teachings cannot be carried out in a secular country with government money. However, Sarma said on Thursday, Sanskrit education is a different matter.
614 govt madrasas in the state
Assam has 614 government madrasas and around 900 private madrasas, almost all of which are run by Jamiat Ulama, while around 100 are government Sanskrit schools and more than 500 private schools. The government spends about Rs 3 to 4 crore on madrasas in the state and about Rs 1 crore annually on Sanskrit schools.
Two years ago, the state government abolished two control boards – the State Madrasa Education Board and the Assam Sanskrit Board. The state government had asked Madrasas to impart modern education to mainstream learners under the Board of Secondary Education, Assam and Sanskrit schools under Kumar Bhaskar Varma University of Sanskrit and Ancient Studies.
Also read in Hindi: बीजेपी सरकार का बड़ा फैसला, सरकारी मदरसों को नवंबर से बंद करने का ऐलान