Assam’s Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, restated his commitment to intensify the crackdown on madrasas in the state and announced that an additional 300 madrasas will be shut down, Muslim Mirror reported.
“There was a meeting between the BJP and the people who run these madrasas. There is a consensus that 300 more madrasas will be closed down. This is a result of the discussion between the Assam police and the Qaumi organizations,” the Assam chief minister said.
In March, Biswa declared the closure of 600 madrasas in the state.
Karnataka | People from Bangladesh come to Assam & create a threat to our civilization & culture. I have closed 600 madrassas & I intend to close all madrassas because we do not want madrassas. We want schools, colleges & universities: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, in Belagavi pic.twitter.com/aIqASZD2a0
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2023
“I have closed 600 madrasas and I intend to close all madrasas because we do not want madrasas. We want schools, colleges and universities,” Himanta Biswa said while addressing a BJP rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi ahead of the Assembly elections in March.
According to a law introduced by Sarma in 2020, all government-operated madrasas in Assam were mandated to be transformed into “regular schools” focusing on providing “general education”.
As of January 2023, Assam has a total of 3,000 madrasas, including both registered and unregistered ones.
The inclusion of madrasa education in the Assam education curriculum dates back to 1934 when it was introduced, and concurrently, the State Madrasa Board was established.