Guwahati, July 10 (IANS) Assam’s school education sector continues to grapple with a severe shortage of teachers and declining student enrolment, even as nearly 25,000 educational institutions have applied to the state government for provincialisation, highlighting the challenges before the Education Department.

The issue figured prominently in the Assam Legislative Assembly, where the state government placed figures indicating that thousands of schools across the state are functioning with inadequate manpower while a large number of institutions are seeking government recognition and financial support.

According to official data shared by the Education Minister in the House, each of the 32,321 schools has fewer than 30 students, reflecting a steady decline in enrolment in several parts of the state.

The education department also informed the Assembly that there are 60,032 vacant teaching posts in schools, affecting the quality of education and increasing the workload on existing teachers. Further, 7,948 schools are reportedly functioning without the prescribed student-teacher ratio, raising concerns over compliance with education norms and the effective implementation of classroom teaching.

Despite these challenges, the government has received applications from nearly 25,000 educational institutions seeking provincialisation.

Education Minister Ranoj Pegu informed the Assembly that the online portal opened for provincialisation witnessed applications from thousands of institutions, including lower primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools.

According to the data placed before the House, 6,163 lower primary schools, 10,101 upper primary schools, 5,733 high schools and 1,222 senior secondary schools have applied for provincialisation.

The Minister said the applications are being examined in accordance with the provisions of the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Reorganisation of Educational Institutions) Act and relevant rules.

He also informed the House that recruitment of teachers and principals in government schools is being undertaken in line with court directions and the state’s recruitment policy.

The opposition, however, expressed concern over the growing number of schools with low enrolment and the large number of teacher vacancies, arguing that the situation poses a major challenge to improving learning outcomes in government schools.

The government maintained that measures are being taken to rationalise resources, fill vacant posts and strengthen the school education system across Assam.

–IANS

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