Merger & Amalgamation: 5,999 Schools Abolished Across Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Believe it or not, around 6,000 vernacular elementary schools have been ‘abolished’ in the State in the name of their amalgamation and merger since 2017.

This policy goes counter to the demand of the AXX (Axam Xahitya Xabha) and the Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabha, Assam (ITSSA) for according more importance on mother tongue in schools and colleges.

According to official documents, as many as 1,885 LP (Lower Primary) schools have been amalgamated with UP (Upper Primary) schools, 1,267 LP schools have been merged with other LP schools and 10 UP schools have been merged with other UP schools. At the secondary level, 853 LP schools and 1,984 UP schools have been amalgamated with high and higher secondary schools. In this process of amalgamation/merger, altogether 4,005 LP schools and 1,994 UP schools have been abolished. Now the State has 36,473 LP schools – 29,413 in general areas and 7,060 in Sixth Schedule areas – and 5,525 UP schools – 4,423 in general areas and 1,102 in the Sixth Schedule areas.

The process of school amalgamation and merger of schools started following an office memorandum named ‘Siksha Khetra’ issued by the State Elementary Education Department in July 2017. According to the policy, two primary schools located in the same campus, two primary schools located one km apart from each other, LP and UP schools in the same campus, LP and UP schools located one km apart from one another, two UP schools in the same campus, etc have to be merged or amalgamated.

Meanwhile, talking to The Sentinel, ITSSA secretary general Kamalakanta Mushahary said, “We oppose the abolition of schools in the name of merger and amalgamation. The Central government has prepared a draft education policy. Following the footsteps of private schools, the draft policy favours schooling for a kid at the age of three years. With this, the Government wants to merge ‘anganwadi’ centres with primary schools. If schools are merged at the current pace, how many km will kids have to walk to attend classes? The merger and amalgamation of schools is against Article 350A of the Constitution. It also violates the Right to Education Act, 2009. We demand the State government to put on hold the merger of schools till the Centre comes out with the new education policy.”

Meanwhile sources in the Department of Elementary Education said that owing to alleged anomalies in the process of merger and amalgamation, a number of the merged and amalgamated elementary schools in the State are, however, functioning in their previous identities.

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