AASU Demands The Government To Address 50 lakh Vernacular Students Facing Uncertain Future

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has demanded that the State government must immediately initiate pragmatic steps to address the problems afflicting 50 lakh students of 39,000 vernacular-medium primary schools across Assam. It further called for the resumption of regular classes, and mid-day meal in the schools. Further, the students’ organization sought allocation of a separate head in the Budget for improving the condition of the primary schools in the State.

The premier students’ body of the State also called for a solution to the problems through mutual discussions between the government and the members of the agitating Assam State Primary School Teachers’ Sanmilani.

Pointing out that most of the primary schools across the State are not having headmasters, the AASU demanded that the posts of headmasters be filled with suitable candidates at the earliest. AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi pointed out in a statement that “the vernacular-medium primary schools have been facing lots of problems for a long time”. Adding that “their development is important for the overall development of the future Assamese society”, the AASU leaders criticized the State government “for turning a blind eye to this vital issue”. The very fact that “the primary school teachers are forced to take to the streets for their justified demands reflects the failure of the authorities concerned to address the burning issue in a proper manner”, the statement pointed out.

The AASU leaders added that “around 50 lakh students of the 39,000 primary schools across the State are facing a number of problems. While several schools are running with just one teacher, some of the primary schools do not have any teacher at all. Even as two months of the present academic year have already elapsed, many students have not yet got their textbooks. Many of the schools do not have adequate number of desks and benches. Since 2018, the students have not been supplied with uniforms. Besides since October of that year, they have been deprived of mid-day meal as well. In such a situation, the teachers have been arranging the meals from their own initiatives. While the meritorious students have not yet received the scholarship money of 2016; though the scholarship test was conducted during 2017-2018, the results have not been declared as yet. Most of the primary schools do not have adequate evaluation and practice notebooks.”

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