The West Bengal government has received criticism over its appointment of teachers for English medium madrasas in the state. The state’s Public Service Commission has published a list of 12 teachers recruited for the said madrasas. However, the list includes the name of only one Muslim.

In July 2020, however, no Muslim teacher was mentioned on the list of 12 teachers appointed for English medium madrassas.

Activists and politicians have raised their concern over declining representation of Muslim teachers in government-run English medium madrasas in West Bengal.

Reacting to the development, Mohammad Reyaz, assistant professor at Kolkata-based Aliah University advised that the recruitment of teachers for English medium madrassas should be done by the state’s Madrasah Service Commission and not by Public Service Commission.

“It should be noted that in the advertisement for these madrasah teachers, one of the desired qualifications is the basic knowledge of Islamic culture,” he pointed out.