Demand for Garo medium schools in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Garo Students' Union (GSU), Assam State Zone has urged the State's Education Minister Ranoj Pegu to take expeditious steps for conversion of certain Assamese-medium lower primary (LP) schools in Garo-dominated areas of Assam into Garo-medium schools.

Talking to The Sentinel, zonal GSU president Foldin Marak said that the Education Minister assured them at a meeting on Wednesday that these schools would be converted into Garo-medium ones as per their request. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Garo Sahitya Sabha.

Marak said that they informed Pegu that the students studying in these schools are all Garo boys and girls and they are being deprived of the opportunity of learning their primary school lessons in their mother tongue. He said that these schools include the Nollongga Assamese-medium school, Moshkuli Assamese-medium school, Matia Garopara Assamese-medium school and Sidabari Assamese-medium school, all of which are located in the Goalpara district.

Zonal GSU chief advisor TK Sangma added that Wednesday's discussion was based on a memorandum submitted by the two organizations to the Education Minister on December 31, 2021 during his visit to the Gohalkona village near Boko.

Sangma said that the memorandum highlighted various education-related problems being faced by the Garo community living in Assam. These problems include diminishing number of Garo teachers in the Garo-medium lower primary, Middle English (ME) and high schools; non availability of Garo MIL free textbooks for Class XI; conversion of the existing Assamese-medium schools located in the Garo areas to Garo-medium schools; extension of Garo-medium instruction to other districts of Assam; upgradation of existing high schools to higher secondary level; upgradation of the attached ME schools to secondary level; appointment of Garo language instructor at Dudhnoi BTC and DIET, Dudhnoi; vacancies of the non-teaching posts in the educational institutions located in the Garo-dominated areas of Assam; deputation of non-Garo candidates and non-Garo speaking teachers to Garo-medium lower primary and ME schools etc.

Sangma said that other than these problems, the two organizations also reiterated their long-standing demand for provincialization of existing venture LP, ME and high schools; reintroduction of Garo MIL in the degree level under Gauhati University, etc.

After threadbare discussions, the Education Minister assured that vacancies in the Garo-medium LP and ME schools will be filled within a short time and Garo MIL free textbooks for Class-XI will be made available soon to the students. With regard to the demand of introduction of Garo as MIL in the degree level, the Minister said that he would examine about the matter and asked the members of the delegation team to submit the syllabi from the NEHU at the earliest to go through it.

In connection with the conversion of the existing Assamese-medium schools located in the Garo areas, Pegu told the delegation team to submit a list of such schools. Similarly, a list of the schools for upgradation to higher secondary level was also sought by the Education Minister, Sangma said.

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