The Assam Christian Forums said the Assam Private Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Amendment Bill, 2025 ends the hands-off approach for minority schools

The Assam Christian Forums (ACF), the apex body of Christian communities in the State, said that a proposed law to regulate the fees of private educational institutions would make minority-run schools lose their long-standing protections.

 

The Assam Private Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Amendment Bill, 2025 approved by the State Cabinet on November 23, is set to be tabled during the winter session of the 126-member Assembly. The session concludes on November 29.

Posting a list of 18 Bills and reports to be tabled in the House, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma highlighted the amendment to regulate the fees of educational institutes. He said the proposed Bill “brings minority schools under the fee regulatory mechanism and mandates 25% fee relaxation for schools in panchayat areas”.

“This proposed law would strip away long-standing protections for minority-run schools by allowing unchecked government control over their fee structures. In simple terms, the proposed Bill ends the hands-off approach for minority schools and hands the State sweeping powers to fix fees, monitor collections, and intervene at will,” the ACF said in a statement on November 25.

 

It said that for Christian missionary institutions, which have been pillars of education in Assam for over a century, the proposed law seems to be a direct attack on their freedom to run schools in line with their values and needs.

“We are pained and feel intimidated. These schools are not businesses; they are nation builders, our community’s heartbeat, preserving our identity, language, and culture through education. Now, the government wants to decide how we fund them, which could force many to close or lose what makes them special,” Archbishop John Moolachira, chairman of the ACF, said.

The ACF said the apprehension of the community stems from the passage of the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Act, 2024, where Christians were targeted for allegedly converting people through magical practices.

 

“Without the ability to set reasonable fees, the minority-run schools may struggle to pay teachers, maintain facilities, or offer scholarships to poor students, many from tribal and remote areas. This could dilute the unique Christian ethos that has defined them, violating the sacred promise in Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India, which guarantees the minorities, both religious and linguistic, the right to establish and manage their own educational institutions,” the ACF said.

The organisation underlined the contributions of missionary schools to the northeastern region since before India’s Independence. These schools, it claimed, boosted literacy rates in the region from near-zero to more than 70% today.

“These created opportunities where none existed. From pre-Independence days, when Assam was a forgotten corner of British India, missionaries planted the seeds of knowledge that grew into the State’s proud educational tree. To now handcuff them with rigid rules feels like forgetting history, and betraying the Constitution’s spirit,” Bernard K. Marak, vice chairman of the ACF, said.

Source: The Hindu