BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
Guwahati, Jan 19: The Kamrup (Metro) district committee of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) today burnt the effigy of State Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the bank of Dighalipukhuri here in protest against the failure of education department to provide free textbooks to the students of government schools in the State.
SFI’s Kamrup (M) district secretary Sangita Das said that even though the Education department had announced with much fanfare that free textbooks would reach the students by December 25 last, a majority of government school students in the State are yet to receive their textbooks.
She said that the Education department has also discrimited with the students of Bodo medium and venture schools students.
Das said that Education minister Himata Biswa Sarma has given all blames to Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd (HPCL) but as the education minister he can avoid responsibility.
It may be mentioned that the HPCL failed to supply paper to the printing presses for printing of textbooks. As a result, around 50 percent textbooks are yet to be printed.
As per information available, the 55 printing presses which were ordered to print textbooks, have failed to print the same because Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has failed to supply sufficient quantity of paper.
The Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Ltd (ASTPPC) had signed an MoU with HPCL for supply of 11,500 metric tonne paper to the 55 printing presses, but till date the presses are yet to receive as much as 7,100 metric tonne paper.
Of the total requirement of 3.25 crore textbooks, 2.17 crore are required for primary and upper primary students and 1.08 crore for class IX and X students.
It has been learnt that of the total 3.25 crore textbooks required, only 1.5 crore textbooks have been printed so far — of which 1.35 crore textbooks are for students from class I to VIII and the remaining 15 lakh textbooks are for class IX and X.
This means that 1.75 crore textbooks are still to be printed, and there is knowing how soon this shortfall will be met.
The Kamrup (M) district committee of the SFI has demanded immediate supply of free textbooks to the government schools of the state.
In order to give a boost to student enrollment numbers in government-funded schools as well as to curb student dropout rates in the state, the state government for the first time had made provisions to provide free text books to Class 9 and 10 students from the 2017-18 academic session.