Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed that Madrasas should be regulated by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and not by the Education Ministry, Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said yesterday.

He told Daily Mirror that the Prime Minister stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas though the minister had earlier said the Education Ministry would take steps to regulate them.

“The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy,” Mr. Kariyawasam said.

Earlier, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said some 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at the Madrasas. He said these clerics had arrived on tourist visas and therefore they should be deported. (Kelum Bandara)