West Bengal Cabinet Decides to Close 250 Private Madrasas and Approves 1.51 Lakh New Jobs

The West Bengal cabinet has decided to gradually shut down 250 government-recognised private madrasas due to very low student numbers and poor infrastructure. These institutions will stay open until December so the few currently enrolled students can continue classes. Reports on these schools are expected before the Durga Puja festival, and the state may later shut down nearly 2,500 unregistered madrasas in phases. This decision follows a recent order to close 252 unauthorised madrasas and send warning notices to around 100 others with irregularities. Alongside the education decisions, the council of ministers cleared a plan to recruit about 1.51 lakh personnel across various state government departments. This total includes 12,000 openings for the West Bengal Police and 4,000 for the Kolkata Police. The government aims to fill these vacant posts quickly to protect public services from delays. In other decisions, the cabinet approved building a new correctional home at Nimtouri in the Purba Medinipur district. The state also increased the financial grant for Ashram hostels under the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and library grant scheme from Rs 1,800 to Rs 3,300.