Assam Govt School Enrolment Goes Up During Covid Pandemic, Says Education Minister

Guwahati: Assam has seen a steady surge in student enrolment in government schools during the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily due to financial stress on the families, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said.

There has been an overall impact of the pandemic on school education but the gradual improvement in teaching quality in government institutions has attracted many parents for enrolling their kids in such schools, the minister told PTI in an interview.

"We have seen a rise in enrolment in government schools during and after the pandemic. This is good news for us. This development can be attributed to many factors," Ranoj Pegu said.

He explained that the financial impact caused by the pandemic has compelled many parents to shift their children to free government schools from the private ones which charge exuberant fees.

"Another factor is an overall improvement in quality of education in government schools. We have been taking various steps over the last few years to improve the quality and the result is showing now," Pegu added.

The Minister said that the Education Department has collated the enrolment figures of all students from Classes 1 to 12 and found that the total number has risen despite apprehensions of dropout owing to the impact of the pandemic.

As per official data, the total number of students in all government, aided and non-private schools across Assam has shot up by over 63,000 during the 15-month period of the COVID-19 pandemic since September 2020.

The grand total of students in government, aided, tea garden managed and venture (established by the people of a locality) schools have surged to 56,84,487 in November 2021 as compared to 56,21,203 in September 2020.

The Education Minister said that such enumeration is usually carried out in September every year and the next survey will be done after two months this year.

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