Assam: Teachers’ body demands security and swift action

––– Violence at Silapathar examination centre –––

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Sadou Asom Sanmilita Sikshak Mancha (SASSM) has strongly condemned the violent and disturbing incident that took place at the Akajan Tribal Girls' Higher Secondary School examination centre in Silapathar during the Higher Secondary final examination (Assamese MIL) on February 14. The organization has demanded the immediate arrest and punishment of the culprits, adequate security for teachers and external invigilators, and concrete steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

In a statement, Ranjit Barthakur, president, and Utpal Chakraborty, secretary of SASSM, stated that a girl student who was expelled from the examination for allegedly using unfair means attempted suicide by jumping in front of a moving vehicle on National Highway 515 after reportedly suffering mental trauma and humiliation. She sustained serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at Dibrugarh Medical College and Hospital.

The incident occurred when only five minutes remained before the examination ended. An external invigilator caught a candidate allegedly copying and, in accordance with the rules, expelled her from the examination hall and wrote a warning/adverse remark on her answer script, which could lead to her being booked under Unfair Means (UFM).

After the examination, a section of agitated students and local residents gathered on the school premises, gheraoed the two external invigilators, pelted stones, vandalized property and even attacked police personnel. The heavy stone-pelting injured several people, including police personnel, and reportedly put the lives of the invigilators at risk.

SASSM expressed serious concern that even three days after the incident, despite the availability of CCTV footage, the district administration has not yet identified or arrested the miscreants.

The teachers' body placed demands before the government: to ensure adequate security for teachers, staff and external invigilators engaged in examination duties; to conduct a fair and transparent investigation and swiftly punish those responsible; to take strict measures to maintain the sanctity and transparency of examinations; to immediately initiate an inquiry by the Education Department and the district administration to identify the culprits; and to guarantee security for teachers and employees who will be engaged in the upcoming Assembly election duties.

SASSM noted that the Chief Minister had issued guidelines on January 24 for the smooth conduct of examinations and termed the occurrence of such an incident despite those guidelines "deeply shameful" and indicative of an unhealthy environment for conducting examinations.

SASSM leaders also wished the injured student a speedy recovery and urged the government to review the existing examination system from the next academic year and introduce timely reforms, giving equal importance to transparency, humanity and security.

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