Madrasa review: Jalpaiguri & Alipurduar DMs submit reports
Times of India | 8 July 2026
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Kolkata: A month after the Bengal govt kicked off its review of all madrasas in the state, the administration has received reports from Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts.
In the first week of June, the state had directed DMs to send comprehensive reports on those institutions in their respective districts to Nabanna by July 5.
“We have received reports from the DMs of Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts so far. Work is progressing in other districts. The deadline for submitting the reports has been extended in light of the substantial volume of work involved in this exercise,” a senior govt official said on Tuesday.
However, no formal notification for extending the deadline has been issued yet, the official said, adding that necessary action will be taken against madrasas found with “irregularities”.
At the block level, the BDO is entrusted with the responsibility for a field visit to all madrasas, both govt-recognised and unrecognised, and collect data, including information on the foundation, registration status with the state madrasa education department, source of funds, number of students and the strength of teaching and non-teaching staff.
“In urban areas, executive officers of municipalities are working to prepare the report that has two annexures. Annexure-1 will include information about govt-recognised aided and non-aided madrasahs, while annexure-2 will have data about all unrecognised madrasas, which are also known as Maktab or Khariji madrasas,” another official said.
The DMs have also been asked to specify whether a madrasa is residential, privately aided and the curriculum offered there.
The state govt funds and regulates two types of madrasas, aided and unaided. There are 614 aided and 601 unaided madrasahs in Bengal, besides 14 English-medium govt-aided madrasas.
Unrecognised Maktab or Khariji madrasas, which are run and maintained by individuals, communities or private organisations, fall under a separate category, and their numbers are estimated to be well over 1,000, while no official count is available.
In Jan 2002, then-CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had announced a govt plan to monitor, register or close unrecognised Khariji madrasas operating along the India-Bangladesh border. However, Bhattacharjee had to retract the proposal within days following backlash from religious organisations and due to objections from Left Front’s coalition partners.