1. This Ordinance may be called the Madrasah Education Ordinance, 1978.

2. In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,- (a) “Alim Madrasah” means an institution recognised for Dakhil and Alim standards and affiliated to the Board;(b) “Alim standard” means the standard in which Alim course of Madrasah education for a period of two years is imparted; (c) “Board” means the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board established under this Ordinance; (d) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board; (e) “Dakhil Madrasah” means an institution recognised for Dakhil standard and affiliated to the Board; (f) “Dakhil standard” means the standard in which Dakhil course of Madrasah education is imparted; ¹[* * *] (i) “Furquania Madrasah” means an institution recognised for Ibtedayee standard and affiliated to the Board; (j) “Ibtedayee Madrasah” means an institution recognised for Ibtedayee standard and affiliated to the Board; (k) “Ibtedayee standard” means the standard in which Ibtedayee course of Madrasah education is imparted; ²[* * *] (n) “Madrasah” means a traditional religious institution of Islamic learning and includes Furquania Madrasah, Ibtedayee Madrasah, Dakhil Madrasah, Alim Madrasah, ³[* * *]; (o) “Madrasah education” means education pertaining to Ibtedayee standard, Dakhil standard, Alim standard, ⁴[* * *] and includes- (i) reading of the Holy Qur'an; (ii) Islamiat, that is, Tafsir, Hadith, fiqh, Kalam, Usul, M'aqulat, Faraid and relevant subjects; (iii) Humanities including Arabic language and literature, Islamic history, general history, Bengali language and literature; (iv) Science; (v) Commerce; (vi) Agriculture; (vii) Industry; (viii) Military Science; (ix) Health education including physical education; and (x) such other types of technical and special education as the Board may, with the prior approval of the Government, determine; (p) “member” means a member of the Board and includes the Chairman; (q) “notification” means a notification published in the official Gazette; (r) “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Ordinance; (s) “President” means the President of Bangladesh; (t) “Principal” means the head of the teaching staff of ⁵[Alim] Madrasah by whatever style he may be designated;(u) “regulations” means regulations made by the Board under this Ordinance; and (v) “Superintendent” means the head of the teaching staff of a Madrasah other than a ⁶[Alim] Madrasah by whatever style he may be designated.

3. (1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Ordinance, the Government shall, by notification, establish a Board to be called the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board for the organisation, regulation, supervision, control, development and improvement of Madrasah education in Bangladesh in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance. (2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall have, subject to regulations, power to acquire and hold movable and immovable property, to transfer such property when held by it, to contract, and to do all other things necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance and shall by the said name sue and be sued. (3) The powers of regulation, supervision, control, development and improvement of Madrasah education in Bangladesh shall vest in the Board.

4. The Board shall be constituted with the following members, namely:- (a) a Chairman to be appointed by the President; (b) the Assistant Director of Public Instruction, In-charge of Madrasah Education, ex-officio; (c) the Director of Technical Education, or an officer, not below the rank of Assistant Director of Technical Education, to be nominated by him; (d) one person to be nominated by the Government from amongst the Chairmen of the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education in Bangladesh; (e) one person to be nominated by the Government from amongst the Heads of the departments of Arabic and Islamic Studies of the Universities in Bangladesh; (f) one Principal of a Government Madrasah to be nominated by the Government; (g) two Principals of non-Government Madrasahs to be nominated by the Government; (h) two Superintendents of non-Government Madrasahs to be nominated by the Government; (i) one Inspecting Officer to be nominated by the Government; (j) two persons specially devoted to the cause of Madrasah education to be appointed by the President.

5. The name of every person nominated or appointed as a member shall, as soon as possible after his nomination or appointment, as the case may be, be published by notification.

6. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, a member, other than the ex-officio member, shall hold office for a term of three years from the date on which his name is published by notification under section 5, and may, on the expiration of such term, be eligible for re-appointment or re-nomination. (2) A person nominated by the Government under clauses (d) to (i) of section 4 shall cease to be a member as soon as he ceases to hold the office by virtue of which he was nominated. (3) Any member, other than the ex-officio member and the Chairman, may resign his membership by a letter addressed to the Chairman and, in the case of the Chairman, he may resign his membership by a letter addressed to the President: Provided that the resignation shall not take effect until it is accepted by the President or the Government, as the case may be. (4) The President or the Government may, at any time by order in writing, remove any member other than an ex-officio member appointed or nominated by him or it from his office if the President or, as the case may be, the Government considers such removal necessary or expedient in public interest or in the interest of the Board. (5) The Government may, at any time by order in writing, remove the member nominated by the Director of Technical Education under clause (c) of section 4 from his office if it considers such removal necessary or expedient in public interest or in the interest of the Board.

7. (1) A person shall not be eligible for nomination or appointment as a member, if he- (a) has been adjudged by a competent Court to be of unsound mind; (b) is an undischarged insolvent;(c) being a discharged insolvent, has not obtained from the Court a certificate that his insolvency was caused by misfortune without any misconduct on his part; or (d) has been convicted by a Court of an offence involving moral turpitude, unless an offence of which he was convicted has been pardoned or unless five years have elapsed since the date of his conviction. (2) The nomination or appointment of a person who is, on the date of his nomination or appointment, subject to any of the disqualifications specified in sub-section (1), shall be invalid. (3) If a member becomes subject to any of the disqualifications specified in sub-section (1), his membership shall thereupon cease.

8. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 11, when the office of a member becomes vacant by resignation, death or otherwise, another person shall be nominated or appointed in his place in the manner provided in the appropriate clause of section 4 and such person shall hold office so long as the member whose place he fills would have been entitled to hold office if such vacancy had not occurred.(2) Notwithstanding the expiration of the term of three years specified in sub-section (1) of section 6, a member shall continue to hold office until the vacancy caused by the expiration of the said term has been filled in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

9. The following shall be the officers of the Board, namely:- (a) the Chairman; (b) the Registrar; (c) the Controller of Examinations; (d) the Inspector of Madrasahs; and (e) such other officers as may be appointed by the Board.

10. (1) The Government may, with the approval of the President, cause an inspection by such person on it may direct of the office, activities and funds of the Board and the examinations conducted by the Board and may cause an enquiry to be made in respect of any matter concerning the Board. The Government shall communicate to the Board the result of such inspection or enquiry and may advise the Board as to the action to be taken within a specified time. The Board shall report to the Government, the action it proposes to take or has taken on such communication; and where the Board does not, within a reasonable time, take action to the satisfaction of the Government, the Government may, after considering any explanation given by the Board issue such directions as it may deem fit, and the Chairman shall comply with such directions. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Government, with the prior approval of the President, may, by an order in writing, annul any proceeding of the Board or any of the Committees if the Government is satisfied that such proceeding is not in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance: Provided that, before making any such order, the Government shall, through the Chairman, call upon the Board or the Committee concerned to show cause why such an order should not be made.

11. (1) The Chairman shall be a whole time officer of the Board and shall be appointed by the President on such terms and conditions as the President may determine. (2) When the office of the Chairman falls vacant temporarily or otherwise, by reason of leave, illness or other cause for a period not exceeding one year, the President shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), make such arrangements for carrying on the duties of the office of the Chairman as he may deem fit.(3) The Chairman shall be the principal executive and academic officer of the Board and shall, when present, preside at the meetings of the Board and the Committees appointed under section 18. (4) It shall be the duty of the Chairman to ensure that the provisions of this Ordinance and the regulations are faithfully observed and carried out and he shall exercise all powers necessary for this purpose. (5) In any emergency arising out of the administrative business of the Board and requiring, in the opinion of the Chairman, immediate action, the Chairman shall take such action as he may deem necessary and shall report the action so taken to the Board at its next meeting for information. (6) The Chairman shall exercise such other powers as may be delegated to him by the Government or as may be prescribed.

12. (1) Officers of the Board, other than the Chairman, shall be appointed by the Board in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) All other employees of the Board shall be appointed by the Chairman in such manner as may be prescribed.

13. Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the terms and conditions of service, including rules for disciplinary matters, granting of leave and for retirement of the officers and the employees of the Board shall be such as may be prescribed.

14. Temporary or casual vacancies in the posts of the officers of the Board other than the Chairman shall be filled up in such manner as may be prescribed.

15. The Chairman or, in his absence, one member elected from amongst those present at the meeting of the Board or of the Committee, shall preside at every meeting of the Board or the Committee and shall be entitled to vote on any matter and shall have and exercise a second or casting vote in every case of equality of votes.

16. (1) No member shall vote on any matter coming before the Board or the Committee in respect of which (otherwise than in the general application thereof to all Madrasahs) he has any personal interest. (2) The Chairman or the presiding member, as the case may be, shall decide any question under sub-section (1) arising in a meeting and his decision shall be final.

17. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the Board shall have power to organise, regulate, supervise, control, develop and improve Madrasah education. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by sub-section (1), the Board shall have power- (a) to prescribe course of instruction for its examinations; (b) to grant affiliation to or to withhold or withdraw affiliation from Madrasahs after considering inspection reports from the Education Directorate or from the inspection reports of its own inspection officer or officers deputed in that behalf by the Board; (c) to prescribe conditions governing admission of students to and transfer of students from and to Dakhil Madrasahs, Alim Madrasahs, ⁷[* * *]; (d) to prescribe the manner and mode of inspection of Madrasahs; (e) to cause inspection, if necessary, of any Madrasah affiliated to it by the officer of the Board or by any other person or persons it considers suitable; (f) to hold, conduct and regulate examinations at the end of the Dakhil, Alim, ⁸[* * *] Mujawwide Meher, Mujawwide Fazil and Mujawwide Kamil stages or any other stage thereof ; (g) to publish the results of examinations held by the Board; (h) to grant sanads, diplomas and certificates to persons who have passed the examinations held by the Board and to withdraw sanads, diplomas and certificates from them;(i) to arbitrate or arrange for arbitration in disputes between teachers and governing bodies or managing committees of Dakhil Madrasahs, Alim Madrasahs, ⁹[* * *] or among such Madrasahs; (j) to submit to the Government its views on any matter with which it is concerned; (k) to determine the number, designation and pay and allowances of the officers and employees of the Board, and to appoint such experts and consultants as it may consider necessary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Ordinance; (l) to regulate and decide all administrative matters including the creation and abolition of posts; (m) to fix demand and receive such fees as may be prescribed; (n) to hold and manage endowments and to institute and award scholarships, stipends, medals and prizes; (o) to enter into and carry out contracts in exercise of powers and performance of duties assigned to it by this Ordinance and the regulations; (p) to make provisions for buildings, premises, furniture, apparatus, books and other means needed for carrying on its work; and (q) to do such other acts and things as it may consider necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance.(3) The Board may delegate any of its powers to the Chairman or any other officer of the Board or to a Committee appointed under this Ordinance it may deem fit:Provided that no power to make any regulation shall be delegated under this sub-section.

18. (1) The Board shall appoint the following Committees, namely:- (a) Academic Committee; (b) Finance Committee; (c) Selection Committee; (d) Regulation Committee; (e) Appeal and Arbitration Committee; (f) Curricula and Courses of Studies Committee; (g) Science Education Committee; (h) Technical Education Committee; (i) Industrial Education Committee; (j) Agricultural Education Committee; (k) Commercial Education Committee; (l) Physical Education Committee; (m) Girls' Education Committee; (n) Examination Committee; (o) Age and Name Correction Committee; (p) Recognition and Centre Committee; (q) Discipline Committee; and (r) such other Committee or Committees as the Board may consider necessary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Ordinance. (2) The composition, powers and duties of the Committees appointed under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.

19. (1) The budget meeting of the Board shall be held on or before the 31st March every year. (2) No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Board unless a quorum of five members is present: Provided that no quorum shall be necessary for a meeting adjourned for want of quorum.

20. (1) The Registrar shall present to the budget meeting of the Board a report on the work of the Board during the last preceding financial year, together with a budget estimate showing, in the prescribed form, the anticipated income and expenditure of the Board during next succeeding financial year. (2) The budget estimate shall, when confirmed by the Board, be forwarded to the Government for approval within such period as may be prescribed and thereupon the Government may either approve the budget estimate as submitted by the Board or make such modifications in it as the Government considers necessary after consulting the Chairman.

21. (1) There shall be constituted a fund to be called the Madrasah Education Fund to which shall be credited- (a) all funds which stand transferred to the Board under section 43; (b) all fees realised under any of the provisions of this Ordinance; and (c) all sums representing income from endowments or from property owned or managed by the Board for the purposes of this Ordinance; (d) all other sums received by the Board from the Government or any other source for any purpose provided for in this Ordinance. (2) The Madrasah Education Fund shall vest in the Board, shall be held by it in trust for the purposes of this Ordinance and shall be administered by it. (3) All moneys payable to the credit of the Madrasah Education Fund shall forthwith be deposited into a scheduled bank approved by the Board, or into Government treasury.

22. (1) No expenditure shall be incurred from the Madrasah Education Fund except for the purposes of this Ordinance and unless such expenditure is provided for in the budget estimate approved by the Government under section 20 or is provided for by re-appropriation by the Board. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Madrasah Education Fund shall be applied to- (a) payment of the cost of audit; (b) payment of salaries and allowances to the Chairman and other officers and employees of the Board; (c) payment of all expenses connected with printing of papers and other documents required for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance; (d) payment of allowances to members of the Board and of the Committees; (e) payment of remuneration to such persons as may be appointed by the Board in connection with the holding and conducting the Board's examinations and of publication of the results thereof; (f) payment of contingent and capital expenditure; and(g) payment of any other expenditure incurred by the Board in accordance with, and for the purposes of giving effect to, the provisions of this Ordinance.

23. The Board shall keep accounts of all its receipts and expenditure in such manner and form as may be prescribed.

24. (1) The accounts of the Board shall be submitted to the Government once every year and examined and audited by an auditor appointed by the Government. (2) It shall be the duty of the Board, and of every member, officer and employee thereof, to afford to the auditor every facility for the examination and audit of the accounts of the Board, and to comply with a requisition made by the auditor.

25. (1) The auditor shall submit to the Government a report on the audit of accounts and shall also submit two copies of such report to the Board and thereupon the Board shall, within such period as may be prescribed, forward one copy of the report together with its observations thereon to the Government. (2) Subject to the provisions of section 27, the Government shall take such action on the audit report as it thinks fit.

26. (1) The auditor shall- (a) disallow any payment which has been made in contravention of any law for the time being in force, and charge it against the persons making or authorising such payment; (b) charge the amount of any deficiency or loss against the person by whose default or negligence such deficiency or loss resulted; (c) charge any sum which could have been, but has not been brought into account against the person failing to account for it. (2) The auditor shall, in every case of disallowance and charge under this section, certify in writing the amount due from the person against whom the charge is made and send a copy of such certificate to the Board and to the person concerned within fourteen days from the date on which the report referred to in sub-section (1) of section 25 is submitted to the Board.

27. (1) Any person from whom an auditor has certified any sum to be due under section 26 may, within one month from the date of receipt by him of a copy of the certificate, appeal against such order to the Government. (2) The Government shall, on such appeal, make such order as it deems fit after giving the person making the appeal an opportunity of being heard and the decision of the Government on such appeal shall be final.

28. (1) Every sum certified to be due under section 26 from any person shall, within one month from the receipt by such person of a copy of the certificate and unless within that period he makes an appeal under section 27, be paid by him into the Madrasah Education Fund. (2) The Board may direct that any sum not paid in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) or, if any appeal has been made under section 27, such sum as the Government may order to be due, shall be recovered- (a) in the case of a servant of the Government or an officer or other employees of the Board, by deduction from his salary in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed, or as a public demand; and (b) in any other case, as a public demand. (3) The Deputy Commissioner shall, for the purpose of section 4 of the Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 (Ben. Act III of 1913), be deemed to be the person to whom such demand is payable and he shall pay to the Board any sum recovered by him in respect of any such demand.

29. (1) An employee of an affiliated Madrasah shall be bound by the following general conditions of service, namely:- (a) he shall not take part in, or subscribe in aid of, or assist in any way, any political movement, or any activities tending directly or indirectly to excite disaffection against the Government as by law established, or to promote feelings of hatred or enmity between different classes of citizens of Bangladesh, or to disturb the public peace; (b) he shall not canvass, or interfere, or use his influence, or stand, as a candidate in any election to a local body or a legislative body in Bangladesh. (2) Any person who contravenes any of the conditions of service under sub-section (1) shall be liable to disciplinary action including removal from his post by an order of the authority which appointed such person on proceeding initiated against him. (3) Any person aggrieved by an order of the authority referred to in sub-section (2) may appeal to the Chairman who may pass such order on appeal as he thinks fit and such order shall be final.

30. Every member of the Board and of every Committee appointed under this Ordinance, and every person appointed for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance, shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).

31. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government or the Board or any Committee or any other person for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Ordinance.

32. No act or proceedings taken under this Ordinance shall be invalid on the ground merely of - (a) the existence of any vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of, the Board or any Committee constituted under this Ordinance; (b) any member of the Board having voted on any matter in contravention of the provisions of section 16; or (c) any defect or irregularity not affecting the merits of the cases.

33. (1) The Board shall establish for the benefit of its officers and employees either Pension and Provident Funds or Contributory Provident Fund only as it may deem fit in such manner, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed. (2) In case the Board establishes a Contributory Provident Fund under sub-section (1), all officers and employees of the Board shall subscribe to that Fund a sum equal to 8› per cent of his salary every month and the Board shall contribute an equal amount in respect of such subscriber every month. (3) The terms and conditions of deposits of subscriptions and contributions to the Fund and withdrawals and advances from such Fund shall be such as may be prescribed.

34. Except the Chairman, every officer and employee of the Board shall retire in the afternoon of the day on which he attains the age at which a Government servant retires.

35. (1) The Board shall provide for the officers and employees meeting with untimely death or disabled by accident or illness during service, a gratuity equivalent to one month's pay for each completed year of his service under the employment of the Board. (2) The terms and conditions of gratuity under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.

36. No member shall enter into any contract with the Board directly or through any other person in connection with the affairs of the Board.

37. No person who has any financial interest in any book prescribed by the Board as a course of study for any examination conducted by the Board or has a financial interest as a partner or otherwise in any firm which publishes, procures or supplies any such book, shall be eligible to become a member of the Board or a Committee appointed under this Ordinance and continue as such after having acquired any such interest.

38. (1) The Board may, with the previous approval of the Government, make regulations for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Ordinance. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by sub-section (1), the Board may make regulations providing for all or any of the following matters, namely:- (i) the powers and duties of the officers of the Board;(ii) the conduct of the meetings of the Board and of the Committees; (iii) the grant and withholding of sanads, diplomas and certificates; (iv) the curricula and the courses of study to be prescribed for obtaining sanads, diplomas and certificates;(v) for granting or withholding affiliation to Madrasahs and for withdrawal of such affiliation; ¹⁰[(vi) the constitution, powers and duties of the Governing Bodies of affiliated non-government Alim Madrasahs and Managing Committees of affiliated non-government Dakhil Madrasahs and Ibtedayee Madrasahs;] (vii) the terms and conditions of service of the teachers of affiliated non-Government Madrasahs; (viii) the conditions under which candidates shall be admitted to the examinations of the Board and shall be eligible for sanads, diplomas and certificates; (ix) the manner and mode of inspection; (x) the fixing and receiving fees for admission to the examinations of the Board and for other purposes; (xi) the holding and conducting of all examinations of the Board; (xii) acquisition, possession and transfer of property by the Board, the conditions of such acquisition, possession and transfer or any other act referred to in sub-section (2) of section 3; (xiii) manner of appointment of the officers of the Board, other than the Chairman, by the Board; (xiv) manner of appointment of the employees of the Board, other than its officers, by the Chairman; (xv) terms and conditions of service, including disciplinary matters, grant of leave and retirement of the officers and employees of the Board; (xvi) manner of filling up temporary and casual vacancies in the posts of the officers of the Board under section 14; (xvii) form for showing anticipated income and expenditure of the Board and the period within which the budget estimate shall be forwarded to the Government; (xviii) the framing of an Accounts Manual or the prescription of the manner and form of keeping accounts of receipts and expenditures of the Board; (xix) period within which the copy of the audit report together with the observation of the Board shall be forwarded to the Government; (xx) manner and conditions of benefit from Pension and Provident Fund or Contributory Provident Fund only; (xxi) terms and conditions of gratuity; (xxii) travelling allowance and daily allowance of the members for attending meetings of the Board and Committees;(xxiii) period within which observations of the Board on the audit report is to be furnished to the Government under section 25; and (xxiv) all other matters which are to be or may be prescribed by regulations. (3) All regulations made under this section shall be published in the official Gazette and shall come into force on such publication.

39. The regulations set out in the Schedule appended to this Ordinance shall, on the commencement of this Ordinance, be the first regulations of the Board and shall be deemed to have been made by the Board under section 38.

40. The Committees appointed by the Board may, subject to the approval of the Board, make rules consistent with this Ordinance and the regulations- (a) laying down the procedure to be observed at their meetings and the number of members required to form a quorum; and (b) providing for all matters solely concerning such Committees and not provided for by this Ordinance and the regulations.

41. Till such time all the members, other than the Chairman, are not nominated or appointed, the Chairman shall, subject to such general or special orders as the Government may give from time to time, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the Board and its Committees appointed under this Ordinance.

42. If any difficulty arises with respect to the establishment of the Board or in connection with the first meeting of the Board or otherwise in first giving effect to the provisions of this Ordinance, the Government may make any order consistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, which appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty.

43. Upon the establishment of the Board, the Madrasah Education Board functioning immediately before the commencement of this Ordinance, hereinafter referred to as the dissolved Board, shall stand dissolved, and upon such dissolution,- (a) all assets, rights, powers, authorities and privileges, and all property, movable or immovable, cash and bank balances, funds, investments and all other interests and rights in, or arising out of, such property of the dissolved Board subsisting immediately before its dissolution shall stand transferred to, and vested in, the Board; (b) all debts, obligations and liabilities incurred, all contracts entered into and all matters and things engaged to be done by, with or for, the dissolved Board before its dissolution, shall be deemed to have been incurred, entered into, or engaged to be done by, with or for, the Board; (c) services of all officers and employees of the dissolved Board shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any contract or agreement or in the terms and conditions of service, stand transferred to the Board and they shall be deemed to be officers and employees of the Board appointed by it on the same terms and conditions of service as were applicable to them in the dissolved Board unless such terms and conditions are altered, not being to their disadvantage, by the Board; (d) all suits and other legal proceedings instituted by or against the dissolved Board before its dissolution shall be deemed to have been instituted by or against the Board.