Guwahati: Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the occasion of Teachers' Day reiterated that the Assamese subject shall be made compulsory for students of the state after the advent of the National Education Policy 2020 that was approved by the Centre earlier this year.
Making the announcement at the 59th Teachers' Day celebrated at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalashetra, the minister said that the New Education Policy seeks to bring back the traditional Indian systems of teaching and do away with the western model of teaching that came with the British colonial rulers.
"This will ensure that the Assamese language stays alive," Sarma said, adding that students will also have the option of studying in regional tongues like Bodo, Mishing, and Rabha. "Be it a Hindi medium school, or an English medium school, students shall have to compulsorily study Assamese till Class 10."
The minister also said that the regional languages of Assam other than Assamese -- facing the threat of extinction -- shall also be salvaged in this new push to educate students in their regional languages.
Sarma further divulged that apart from Mathematics and Science, the Assamese students will have the option of studying in their mother tongue as per the new education policy's measures.
The minister further stated that in the last 5 years, the education system has trudged ahead by leaps and bounds. "Students belonging to BPL class need not have to worry about admission in schools. From Class IX to the university level, admission is being made free for the students. The government will provide free textbooks from school level to university level," Sarma said.
Today, on the occasion of teacher's day, the state government has also awarded 10 schools for "best performances". These schools are as follows: Guwahati Refinery High School, Jorhat Borhola Higher Secondary School, Cachar Pranbana NDA Vidyamandir, Sivasagar Government Higher Secondary Bohumukhi School, Paschim Chamata High School, Khandajan Model High School of Darrang, Hindi-English High School of Tinsukia, Hilapakari High Madrassa of Barpeta, Somoria Adarsha Vidyalaya, Kamrup, and Rangapathar Adarsha High School, Charaideo.