In a significant development, the state of Assam in India will become the first state where Indian civilisation, irrespective of religion would be taught after the closing down of hundreds of government-run madrassas and Sanskrit tols (schools), state Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday (14 December).
Speaking to the Media, Sarma said “All the 683 government-run madrassas would be converted into the general schools and 97 Sanskrit tols would be handed over to Kumar Bhaskarvarma Sanskrit University. These Sanskrit tols would be converted into centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be studied. Irrespective of religion, Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be taught in these converted educational institutions making Assam the first Indian state to teach on these themes,”.
While addressing the media, Sarma also added, “The State Madrassa Education Board will be dissolved from the date of declaration of results of examinations to be held for the 2021-22 academic year, and all records, bank accounts and staff will be transferred to the Board of Secondary Education, Assam,”.
Sarma was very categorical when he said, “the government cannot spend public money for religious teaching”. In order to bring uniformity, teaching the Quran at the cost of government exchequer could not be allowed to continue,”.
Madrassa education had started in 1934 when Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla was the Prime Minister of Assam during the British Raj and the legacy of the Muslim League.
Sarma went on to say that parents of most of the students enrolled in the madrassas, want to see their children become doctors and engineers. A Muslim professor in Gauhati University who conducted a survey found that, parents and guardians of most of the students of the madrasas did not know that their children are not taught the regular subjects but are only taught Quran.