The Assam cabinet approved a proposal to close down all government-run madrassas and Sanskrit tols (schools), and a bill in this regard will be tabled during the upcoming winter session of the state Assembly.

KEY POINTS:

=> A bill will be introduced in the next session of the Assembly.

=> There were 610 state-run madrassas across Assam and the government had been spending Rs 260 crore annually for these institutes.

=> The State Madrassa Education Board, Assam would be dissolved.

=> All the government-run madrassas would be converted to high schools and new admissions would be held for existing students as regular ones.

=> The Sanskrit tols would be handed over to Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University.

=> The infrastructure of Sanskrit tols would be used to convert them to centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism would be studied,

=> The state cabinet also approved a separate proposal to ensure that the authorities of private educational institutes take permission from the government before making them operational.

=> Many educational institutes are being set up by private parties without any permission. They seek approval from the government after running these institutes for several months.