Garo organizations protest Assam government's decision to close down Gohalkona High School

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKO: Garo Students' Union (GSU) Assam, state zone, organized a protest meeting against the government's decision to close down the Gohalkona High School at Gohalkona High School playground under Boko LAC in Kamrup district of Assam on Tuesday. Around 1000 people from South Kamrup's Garo villages along with delegates of Garo National Council (GNC), Garo Sahitya Sabha (GSS), Garo Women Council (GWC) and A'Chik Holistic Awakening Movement (AHAM) took part in the meeting.

Gohalkona High School was established in 1948. Earlier it was an MV School which was established in the year 1933. Gohalkona village is 10 kilometers far from Boko and it is a Garo tribal inhabited village.

"This is the only high school for this remote area. Students belonging to Garo community study their higher education after Lower Primary only in this school. A total of 191 students in this school are from very remote hilly areas including Ukium and other hilly parts of South Kamrup area," said Silna J Sangma, teacher of the Gohalkona High School.

"Last year a total of 26 students appeared in the HSLC exam from this school, but all of them failed in the Class X board examination," she added. When asked the reasons behind the failure, she replied that during the Covid pandemic situation students did not study properly. During that time, online classes were going on in other parts of Assam, but in this area, there is no proper internet services, and some students did not have smartphones. On the other hand, the school is running with a lack of teachers in many subjects."

Foldin R Marak, President GSU Assam zone said, "More than 1000 Garo people are gathered here to protest against the closing of Garo medium school. Government of Assam has already decided to close the Garo medium schools in Assam. Gradually our Garo medium school will be diminished. If the existing schools are closed, where will the children of this school study? Instead of closing the amalgamating Garo medium schools just try to enforce by appointing more Garo medium teachers in the Garo medium schools. We demand the government not to close as well as no amalgamating, no shifting of the existing Garo medium schools in Assam should be done. If the government of Assam doesn't accept our demand we will resort to agitation."

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