Just days after the Assam government closed 34 high schools after none of the students from those schools were able to pass the 10th board examinations, the state government has now closed 1710 primary schools in the state. As part of the ongoing school rationalisation process in the state, the state education department has completed the process of closing the identified primary schools, and merged them with nearby schools.
These schools had very few numbers of students for various reasons, including the availability of multiple primary schools in the same area, and had a highly skewed teacher-student ratio that didn’t justify running those schools. The number of students in some classes in those schools were in single digits. The state government had sent notices to all schools having less then 30 students informing that those schools will be merged with nearby government schools, and the teachers will be transferred to other schools.
This scenario occurred after the state government provincialised a large number of private schools, known as venture schools, and this had resulted in multiple government schools in the same areas. Apart from this, the establishment of English-medium private schools also has contributed to the decreasing number of students in government schools.
Although there have been protests against the amalgamation of schools, the state government has taken a strong position on the matter, saying that schools with poor results and a low number of students will be closed and merged with nearby schools. As part of that decision, 1710 schools in 20 districts have been closed. These schools include 62 in Barpeta district, 68 in Bongaigaon district, 129 in Cachar, 64 in Darrang, 85 in Dhemaji, 56 in Dhubri, 60 in Dibrugarh, 89 in Goalpara, 45 in Golaghat, 59 in Hailakandi, 182 in Jorhat district, 94 in Kamrup Metro, 50 in Tinsukia, 105 in Sonitpur, 136 in Sivasagar, 134 in Nalbari, 90 in Nagaon, 148 schools in Marigaon and 49 primary schools in Karimganj.
The state government has said that the purpose of the amalgamation of schools is to achieve a standard teacher-pupil ratio, optimum services of the employees, saving administrative cost and other logistic support for the schools.
Education minister Ranoj Pegu said that this is an ongoing process, and the amalgamation of schools will continue, based on results in board exams and the number of students. The Himanta Biswa Sarma government has taken several steps to reform and improve the education sector, including opening new schools in areas lacking schools and merging schools in areas where there are more than required schools.
Unless forced to, we prefer to work quietly!
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 3, 2022
In this academic year we've established 100 Secondary Schools for kids of tea garden workers; 100 more in pipeline. Tea gardens are located in remotest parts of Assam.
Watch these infrastructure and lovely kids. @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/JIvJ86XgSi
Yesterday CM The govt Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that 100 new Secondary Schools have been established this year for children of tea garden workers, and 100 more such schools are in pipeline.
