Quality education in Guwahati

With results of Class X and Class XII Board examinations coming out soon after the Lok Sabha election process gets over, a large number of students from Assam and the North-eastern region will make a mad rush to take admissions in educational institutions in Delhi. While the majority of brilliant students leave for Delhi – some to other cities like Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and even Bhubaneswar, as also to the numerous coaching institutes in Kota – it looks like as if there are no good institutions within the region. The rush of students from the region not only indicates that the best of our talents are migrating. In fact, it is also a huge drain on the economy, as parents of these thousands of students spend their hard-earned money to put their children in good institutions. The simple question one is tempted to ask is – why are such a large number of students going out of the state every year? And then, the next question – are the existing educational institutions in Guwahati, or for that matter within the region, not capable of imparting ‘good’ education? The answers to both the questions appear to be the same, and they reflect a bitter truth. Established way back in 1901, Cotton College – which has now become a University – being the first and oldest institution of higher education for the entire region, ideally should have been the most important attraction for students from all over Assam and the Northeast. But then, looking at the huge outflow of brilliant students every year, one is tempted to conclude that Cotton College/University – has failed, and failed miserably. That this is a reality is also proven by the fact that, for most of the students who occupy the top ten positions in the High School Leaving Certificate examination of the Secondary Education Board Assam (SEBA), Cotton College/University is no longer the first choice. Students passing out of schools that are affiliated to the CBSE probably do not even look towards Cotton College/University. But then while one may argue that Cotton College/University alone should not be singled out, one must also find out the reasons why this hallowed institution has lagged behind over the years. Wasn’t there a time when people used to say – What Cotton thinks today, Assam thinks tomorrow? What about the authorities who run Cotton College, and for that matter every other college and university in Guwahati? Have they ever tried to analyse why the larger chunk of our brilliant students seek admission in institutions outside the state and not in Guwahati and within the region? Has the government ever tried to find out the reasons? Is the quality of our teachers poor? Do they get lesser facilities including lesser pay here than their counterparts elsewhere in the country despite being governed by the same UGC rules?

Well, yes, Cotton College/University is only one example. There are several colleges in Guwahati which have completed half a century of their existence, or even more. What about these? Have they been able to stand up to the growing need of high-quality education that the younger generations are looking at for which they are rushing to Delhi and other places outside? Why have they not been able to arrest this outflow of talents? What about the government? While successive governments keep talking about converting Guwahati into a ‘hub’ of South-east Asia, where is the mention of making Guwahati a hub of quality education at least for Assam and the Northeast? Even when one looks at the on-going election campaign, does one find any of the candidates contesting for the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency talking about making Guwahati a real hub for quality education? Why don’t the election manifestos of different political parties contesting the current election have even one sentence on the education scenario in Assam and the Northeastern region?