Guwahati:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that he plans to shut down all madrassas in the state. Addressing a public rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi, Mr Sarma mentioned that his government has closed 600 madrassas already and close all the others soon.

“We don’t need madrassas. We need engineers and doctors,” Mr Sarma said.

When asked by a journalist to elaborate on his intention behind the move, Mr Sarma said that new India needs schools, colleges, and universities instead of madrassas.

“New India doesn’t need madrassas. It needs universities, schools, and colleges,” he said.

In the past, Mr Sarma has often indicated his desire to either reduce madrassas or scrutinise the education being given at these institutions. There are currently 3,000 registered and unregistered madrassas in Assam.

In 2020, he introduced a law that would facilitate converting all state-run madrassas into “regular schools”. Mr Sarma had said the state police were working with Bengali Muslims, who have a positive attitude towards education, to create “a good environment” in the madrassas. Science and mathematics will also be taught as subjects in the madrassas, and the right to education respected and a database of teachers maintained, he had said.