A CORRESPONDENT
JAMUGURIHAT: The Axam Xahitya Xabha (AXX), the apex literary body of Assam, has written to the chief minister seeking a review of the schedule of the third phase of Gunotsav, the State Government’s school education assessment programme, after it was found to clash with the dates fixed for the Xabha’s 78th biennial session.
The session is scheduled to be held at Duliajan in Dibrugarh district from January 31 to February 4, 2027, as per a decision taken earlier. However, a recent notification issued by the Education Department has set the third phase of Gunotsav for February 2 to 5, 2027, in 10 districts of the state, including Dibrugarh — dates that overlap with the concluding days of the AXX session.
In a press release issued on Friday, Principal Secretary of the Xabha, Debojit Bora, said that the overlap was likely to place teachers, who play a central role in both events, in a difficult position. “Teachers form the backbone of Gunotsav’s implementation, and they are equally indispensable to the organisation of the AXX session,” the release said, adding that many teachers across the state have long been associated with the Xabha’s organisational, literary, and cultural work.
The Xabha, in its memorandum to the chief minister, said that the simultaneous scheduling could lead to a shortage of teachers and delegates required to run the session’s various programmes, apart from affecting the smooth execution of Gunotsav itself. It added that the coincidence of both events in Dibrugarh district would impose an additional burden on the district administration, schools, and the local teaching community, whose cooperation is essential for arranging travel, accommodation, and cultural programmes for delegates and guests visiting from across the state.
The Sabha, however, clarified that its appeal was not to be seen as opposition to Gunotsav, which it described as an important initiative to improve the quality of school education in the state. It said that it remained equally keen that teachers be able to carry out their Gunotsav duties without hindrance. Describing the AXX as an institution with a national responsibility that goes beyond literary activities, the memorandum said that the organisation had, for over a century, worked towards the preservation, development, and propagation of the Assamese language, literature, and culture, with its biennial sessions regarded as significant chapters in the state’s socio-cultural life. The upcoming Duliajan session, it said, held particular importance in this regard.
The Xabha urged the chief minister to have the Gunotsav schedule ‘sympathetically reconsidered’ to avoid the clash, expressing hope that his intervention would enable teachers to discharge their responsibilities towards both the Education Department and the Xabha ‘with equal commitment and sincerity.’
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