We have been made to understand that the focus of education in Assam is on students rather than on teachers. On Friday, the last day of the budget session of the Assam Legislative Assembly, State Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was candid about the way he saw education, especially school education. He said his whole education focus is students-centric, not teachers-centric. This translates to him being more concerned with the cause of students – quality education, employment and secure future – than with issues that teachers keep raising, especially relating to appointment and transfer as well as enhanced pay package. He also rued that during the whole discussion on education that day, most of the MLAs talked about the grievances of teachers, provincialization issues etc and no one talked about how to improve the quality of education and other issues related to students. This, he said, made him “sad”. Then he went more categorical: “My stand is clear. Education has to be students-centric and they must get quality education.”