Guwahati, May 12: The Congress today reiterated its opposition to the Assam government’s move to merge the Madrasa board with the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (Seba) because it was not equipped to run madarsa education.

Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the Assembly on Tuesday that the government would soon disband the State Madrasa Education Board, the Madrasa Education Directorate and Sanskrit Board as part of its efforts to mainstream the two education systems by stressing more on computers, science and mathematics. The academic part of the Madrasa board will be handed over to Seba and that of the Sanskrit Board to Kumar Bhaskarvarma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University.

Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia wondered how the move would benefit the students when the credibility of Seba, which conducts the matric exam, has come under the scanner after Sarma had disclosed how it had inflated marks to boost the pass percentage. “We are not opposed to reforms of madarsa education but to the Seba move,” Saikia said.

The State Madrasa Education Board was set up in 1934 with nine schools. The proposed move will now affect 800 madarsas in the state.

Congress spokesperson Abdul Khaleque, who had opposed the move in the Assembly, said if the government was serious about reforms and mainstreaming of madarsa education, it should set up a university like the one set up in neighbouring Bengal. “On one hand you (Dispur) are saying Seba was inflating marks, and on the other, you are saddling it with the responsibility of running madarsa education. It is not well-equipped to do so because it can look up to only class X. What about degree and post-graduation courses offered by the madarsas?” he asked.

Sarma had said in the Assembly that he would consider the appeal for bringing ma-darsas under the university.

Outside the House, Sarma said Seba will look after matric students, higher secondary councils till +2 and the degree and post-graduate levels will be looked after by university. The mainstreaming is only for government-funded madarsas and not private ones.

Bokajan legislator Numal Momin backed the government’s move of mainstreaming madarsa education and said it was important for the development of the Muslims.

The decision to disband the madrasa board has been flayed by the AIUDF and minority organisations and termed “anti-Muslim”.

The move to disband the board comes after the December 8 order by the education department abolishing holidays on Friday, when jumma nawaz is offered.