'Long-due need for Dispur to straighten things out revealed'

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 9: Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the first phase of gunotsav held in eight districts in the State has brought to light that there had all along been a crying need for the government in the State to straighten things in schools out.

Citing a few examples, the minister said: “We’ve have been in dark that the school students in the State have not been given school uniform for the past four years. The media also haven’t ever reported this reality. There had been no budget – neither from New Delhi nor from Dispur – for school uniform for students. However, we’re going to provide students school uniform from May this year.”

Sarma said: “Most of the teachers find NCERT books translated into Assamese too tough for them, let alone for students. They want reforms in books.”

Sarma said that the evaluators are not satisfied with the performance of the students during the evaluation. “They even don’t have idea about the tiol Anthem. It has also come to light that the teachers need training. We’ve two more evaluation phases to go,” Sarma said, and added: “After phase 1 of the evaluation process, we’re going to hold meetings with teachers in each of the 80 education blocks in the State.” The minister hinted that the department would be tougher against the private educatiol institutions in the State. “We’re going to introduce a Bill in the next Assembly session slated to be held in October-November this year on private educatiol institutions. Regiol languages will be given more importance in the Bill,” he said. Reacting to Shikshak Sanmilani’s criticism on the standard of the question papers set for the Gunotsav, Sarma said: “This is not an examition. It’s an evaluation intended to know if the students of Class VIII or others know what they have read in their previous classes.”

Sarma made it clear that no action — neither against the students, nor against their teachers — will be taken after this evaluation. He, however, said that such evaluation would continue.

Sarma said that various departments and their officers involved in the evaluation process have come forward with proposals on their own to adopt schools so as to develop them with their departmental schemes. “Even the Central Government employees of the State have evinced their interest to involve themselves in the evaluation process. They’ll be included in the next evaluations,” Sarma said.