Survey of private madrasas in Assam will be completed within 6 months: AIUDF MLA

Assam [India], November 10 (ANI): The general secretary of the Assam-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and MLA from Sonai, Karim Uddin Barbhuiya talking to ANI said that the surveys of the private madrasas in the state will be completed within 6 months.
In his statement to ANI, Barbhuiya said, “Survey of private madrasas will be completed within 6 months. Those that don’t have students are being amalgamated. We’re focusing on the infrastructure of madrasas”.
It is important to note that the private madrasas in the state of Assam have been asked to provide all information about their institution, including the location of the institution and teachers’ detailss to the state government by December 1 this year.
The Madrasas will have to submit all information, including the location of the institution, teachers’ details etc to the Secondary Education department of the state government by December 1 via the organizations under which they operate.
Barbhuiya was commenting on the order. About the appointment of teachers and working staff in the madrassas, he clarified, “If an outsider is appointed as a teacher, police verification is needed, it’s general practice”.
It is noteworthy that the December 1 deadline was set on 9 October during a meeting held at the Assam Police Headquarters in the presence of DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Director of Secondary Education Mamata Hojai, representatives of five organisations, including All Assam Tanzim Madaris Qawmiya, All Assam Talimi Taraqqi Board, Madrasa Education Board Al Hafiz, Adara Madaris Islamia who are running the private Madrasas in the state.
Earlier on September 4, a meeting between the DGP of Assam, senior police officials and the representatives of several organizations who run the Madrasas were held and several decisions, including to ensure that no extremist elements would take shelter in the Madrasa in the name of religious teaching were taken.
Back in August this year, authorities in Assam demolished a madrassa in the Bongaigaon district after allegations that its premises were being used for terror activities. This was the third madrasa to be razed by the Assam government following arrests of Imam and madrasa teachers on charges of being linked to terror outfits Al Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
Several private madrasas in the state came under scanner after teachers employed in some Madrasas were arrested by the Assam police this year for their alleged links with AQIS and ABT.
Earlier this month, The Supreme Court issued notice on the plea against the Gauhati High Court verdict that Madrassas being government schools wholly maintained by the Assam State cannot be permitted to impart religious instruction.
The petitioner has challenged the judgment dated February 4, 2022, passed by the High Court of Gauhati that upheld the validity of the Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialization) Act, 1995 (repealed by the Act of 2020) and all consequential government orders including the Notification dated February 12 2021.
According to the petition, the Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialization) Act, 1995 (repealed by the Act of 2020) is only limited to the State undertaking to pay the salaries and provide consequential benefits to the teaching and non-teaching staff employed in madrassas as also the administration, management and control of these madrassas. The petition stated that the land and building belonging to the madrassas are taken care of by the petitioners and the expenditures on electricity and furniture are borne by the petitioner madrassas themselves.
According to the petition, the respondents by way of the Notification in question dated 12.02.2021 have abrogated the right of the petitioner madrassas under Article 30(1) to ‘establish’ and ‘administer’ educational institutions of their choice inclusive of the right to decide their own curriculum which may also be based on their perception of ways to preserve their religion or culture.
As per the petition, on February 12 2021, the Principal Secretary, of the Secondary Education Department in pursuance of the decision of the council of ministers issued several instructions through a notification converting madrassas into high schools and bringing them under the State Education Board, withdrawing subjects on theological aspects like the Quran, removing the name ‘Madrassa’, barring fresh admission with effect from April 1, 2021, for old courses, directing that teachers teaching theological subjects to be provided training for teaching general subjects of their aptitude, dissolving the State Madrassa Education Board after it declares the results for AY 2021-22, transference of all records, bank accounts of the SMEB to the Board of Secondary Educations.
The inception of this fiasco happened back in 2020. On December 14, 2020, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that in order to facilitate a secular education system in Assam, the state government has decided to make ‘education secular’ and 198 high madrasas and 542 other madrasas in the state will operate as any other general educational institute and will not give admission to students for theological studies.
Assam currently doesn’t have any government-run madrassas as they have recently been converted into regular schools.
However, individual or privately run madrassas continue to exist. (ANI)