GUWAHATI: Assam minister for education Ranoj Pegu said on Wednesday that his government was examining the possibility of regulating private madrasas under Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation and Management) Act, 2006.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Pegu said, “There is a law brought out in 2006 which has provisions for the regulation of non-government institutions. We will examine if private madrasas can be brought under this Act. Presently, all non-government schools are not covered under this Act.”
Clarifying that no concrete step has been taken in this direction of now, he said “The government is gradually taking steps to bring all the non-governmental educational institutions under this existing Act for their regulation and monitoring.”
The minister said, “Whether these private madrassas will fall under that category or not, we will examine in consultation with the law department. So far, nothing has been done, but we are looking into it.”
The proposal has come under the consideration of then government after the arrests of several madrassa teachers for their alleged links with terror outfits.
It is significant that Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta had earlier this month stated that there are about 3,000 registered and unregistered private madrasas across Assam that are run by four main Muslim organisations.
From April 1, 2021, all the 610 state-run madrasas in Assam were converted into upper primary, high and higher secondary schools with no change of status, pay, allowances and service conditions of the teaching and non-teaching staff.
Altogether at least 42 people, many of them teachers of madrasas, have been arrested across Assam since March this year for their alleged links with terror outfits Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
The DGP also had a meeting with the Muslim leaders and the madrasa boards recently. He asked them to verify the person's identity and submit the information to the police. He had also announced that a portal would be opened soon where groups would provide details of the madrasas and the teachers engaged by them. The DGP had also suggested that maths, science and English should be taught in addition to religious education.
