The Assam government has asked madrasas in the state to provide all information about their institutes, including the location and profile of teachers employed by them by 1 December, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The deadline was set at a meeting by the director general of police Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta on Wednesday and was participated by the director of secondary education Mamata Hojai, representatives of the madrasas and government officers, he said.
“The madrasas will have to furnish the details to the directorate for secondary education via organisations under which they operate,” the official said.
Several madrasas in the state came under the scanner after teachers employed in these institutions were arrested earlier this year for their alleged links with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
The official said that on Wednesday Mahanta told the madrasa bodies’ representatives that police verification is mandatory for any teacher hailing from outside the state in these institutions.
The DGP also said madrasas should be at least three km apart and should preferably have 100 students. Madrasas that are situated within a three km radius should be amalgamated.
The meeting also discussed the formulation of an administrative policy for the madrasas and mentoring of the students who pass out from these institutions.
The parent bodies of the madrasas were asked to submit detailed information in written format by 1 December. Work on an online portal for uploading the same is in progress, the official added.
Altogether 47 people, including the teachers, have been arrested in the state this year for suspected links with fundamentalist organisations.
After the arrest of the madrasa teachers for alleged ‘jehadi links’, four such educational centers were demolished in Morigaon, Bongaigaon and Barpeta districts in August. A madrasa in Goalpara was demolished in September by the local people for the same reason.
A meeting was held in September between the DGP and organisations or sects under which most of the madrasas function and were asked to conduct a survey of the institutions.
Wednesday’s meeting took stock of the progress made following the September discussions.
