ABSU urges Education Minister Ranoj Pegu to implement clause 6.3 of BTR accord

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) on Saturday called on State Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu during his special visit to Kokrajhar and urged him to implement clause 6.3 of the BTR accord, address other issues pertaining to Bodo medium education, set up more colleges and create more departments in the existing higher educational institutions.

The president and general secretary of the ABSU, Dipen Boro and Khanindra Basumatary respectively, in their memorandum to the Education Minister, demanded implementation of clause 6.3 of the BTR accord and provincialization of schools and colleges of Bodo medium situated inside and outside the BTC as per special need and requirement, as well as creation of posts and appointment of lecturers in the Bodo department in colleges outside BTC as a special consideration. They said that the State Government had formed a committee headed by RC Jain as its chairman on September, 2020 but the process was yet to be started. They also said that the ABSU submitted a memorandum and proposed modalities to the committee for provincialization.

The ABSU demanded new legislation or amendment bill for provincialization of Bodo medium institutions and colleges on the basis of MoS of BTR in the ensuing budget session to be held from July 12, to provincialize junior colleges, degree colleges outside BTR under the Mising Autonomous Council area and KAAC where majority tribal students are studying on need-based basis, and to upgrade the post of Directorate of Bodo medium and other tribal languages from Additional Director to Director as like others of the State. The union sought modification in the appointment letter of the Director of Bodo medium and other tribal languages as a full-fledged Director. In a recent meeting on the Bodo accord implementation, the Chief Minister had ordered to do so but till date this has not been done.

"Allotment of separate building for the directorate office of Bodo medium and other tribal languages and sanctioning of more required posts and budget to run the directorate, deployment of staff on temporary basis till filling up of regular posts from elementary and secondary directorate for running of the said directorate are urgently needed," they said, adding that the ABSU had been working to uplift the Bodo medium education.

The union demanded Dr. Ajit Boro, Principal of Gossaigaon B.Ed College, to be made the new member in the committee already constituted to implement the NEP, 2020 in Assam, to provincialize the schools and institutions left out and posts dropped in recent anno-uncement of provincialization of services and posts as per the Act of 2013 and 2017, and to provincialize language teacher posts in mixed/single medium schools of elementary and secondary level of BTR.

Other demands of the student body are creation of more number of new posts in various departments on need basis in Bodoland University, provincialized degree colleges under BTR and PGT posts for Bodo MIL/Elective in provincialized Higher Secondary and junior colleges, creation and induction of Bodo department in the State university at Kumar Bhaskar Varmana Sanskrit & Ancient Studies University, Nalbari, to speed up the process of post creation for Bodo department in 13 colleges of Assam, provincialization of professional colleges i.e. Gossaigaon B.Ed College, Reimali B. Ed College, Bijni, T.C. Saharia B.Ed College, Tangla and Kokrajhar Law College (Single Law College) of BTR on need basis, and establishment of new science colleges, law colleges and medical colleges in BTR as per the recent announcement and adopted policy of the Government of Assam.

The ABSU also demanded the inclusion of Bodo in CTET as one of the language subjects, filling of all the vacancies of Bodo medium vacant posts in BTR and Assam in LP/UP, High School, and Higher Secondary through recent TET recruitment in Assam as per special need in Bodo medium schools without leaving behind any school, re-posting of Bodo medium LP/UP teachers in Bodo medium schools which was done earlier through computerized allotment system, inclusion of Bodo as one of the proficiency in official language paper in Assam Judicial Service examination (Paper V, 50 Marks) on the basis and right of giving equal

status to Bodo language as the associate official language of Assam, to sanction for more departments (including Hindi, Bengali and Nepali) and regularize the posts of non-teaching staff of Bodoland University, to create more new departments in Bineswar Brahma Engineering College, Kokrajhar and regularization of the posts of contractual faculties and staff, and to start M.Ed course in Kokrajhar Government Centre for Teacher Education.

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