Paving the path toward academic excellence

Bijendra Gogoi

(bijendragogoidme@gmail.com)

In recent times, the education sector has experienced rapid transformation with emerging innovations. To help the youth cope with the changing circumstances, it is imperative to strengthen academic infrastructure with advanced curriculum and increase access to education. In Assam, the state government led by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has introduced a number of initiatives in the education sector, starting from infrastructure augmentation to extending financial support to students. It is interesting to see how these steps have impacted the overall educational scenario in Assam, making students future-ready.

The higher education sector holds the key to unlocking the growth potential of any country. By enhancing knowledge, skills, and technological expertise, it prepares the younger generation to dominate the future job market. The primary condition for more students to have access to higher education is to increase the number of educational institutions and make education affordable. In Assam, during the six decades after independence, a total of 10 universities were established by the government. In contrast, seven new universities have come up in the state in just a decade since 2014. The present Assam government has upgraded eight colleges to university level and completed construction of seven model colleges, while work for constructing 6 engineering colleges and 8 polytechnic institutes is underway. There were three medical colleges in Assam till the end of the last century. During the last two decades, five new medical colleges came up. Contrary to this, five new medical colleges have become functional in Assam under the present state government. As a result, the number of medical colleges in the state, including AIIMS Guwahati, has increased to 14 today. Moreover, 10 medical colleges are under construction. These institutions have made it possible for a large number of students to access higher education in the state. If we look at the medical education sector alone, there were 726 MBBS seats in the state in 2014. This number has now gone up to 1600. Similarly, the number of seats for postgraduate courses has increased from 395 to 722.

In addition to robust infrastructure, a major requirement to impart quality education is the availability of a sufficient number of qualified teachers. As per official statistics, the Assam government has appointed more than 2,000 assistant professors in provincialized and government colleges in the state during the last three years. These initiatives of the government have had a direct impact on increasing the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER). Recently, the state government has introduced IT-based admission through the Samarth Portal to undergraduate courses, bringing more transparency to the entire process.

Many have raised the question of whether schemes providing cash or kind to students have contributed to boosting the academic landscape. Government data on the implementation of schemes in the education sector throws important light on this. For many students, poor economic conditions are a major deterrent to pursuing higher education. The Government of Assam has provided free admission in higher secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate courses through a fee waiver scheme under the Pragyan Bharati initiative. This makes higher education more affordable for many children from economically disadvantaged families. During the first phase of the scheme in the academic year 2024-25, altogether 94,838 students of four-year undergraduate courses in 349 colleges and universities have been benefitted. The state government has also taken steps to provide mess dues for hostels and transportation expenses of girl students studying in government or provincialized higher educational institutions. The Abhinandan Scheme, under which the state government provides subsidies up to Rs 50,000 on education loans, has eased the financial burden of many parents.

The Chief Minister recently launched a new scheme called Nijut Moina. Through this scheme, the government aims to maintain continuity of higher education among girl students and address the challenging issue of child marriage. This scheme, which has initially covered 1.60 lakh girl students, will benefit a total of 1 million students. Under the scheme, per year, Rs 10,000 to first-year higher secondary girl students, Rs 12,500 to first-year undergraduate girl students, and Rs 25,000 to first-year postgraduate girl students will be provided. In addition to this scheme, Rs 2,000 each to minority community students in Class 10 and Rs 4,000 each to students in Class XI and XII have been provided. A total of 34,267 minority community students received the scholarship in the academic year 2023-24.

The government launched the Banikanta Kakati Merit Award Scheme in 2017-18 to provide scooters to girl students who passed the HS Final Examination in first division. The award was initially given to 1,000 girl students. The number of recipients increased to 5,028 in 2018-19 and 20,034 in 2020-21. Each year during 2022-23 and 2023-24, the number exceeded 35 thousand. From the academic year 2023-24, the award has also covered boy students who score 75 percent or more. So far, 1,78,635 students have benefitted under the scheme. The Anundoram Barooah Award Scheme was launched in 2005 for students who passed the HSLC examination in first division. While only 12,756 students received the award during the year of its launch, the number has gone up to 22,601 in the year 2022; that too when the award is given to only those students who score 75 percent or above in the exam. So far, the scheme has benefitted 4,13,400 students. In addition, about 3.70 lakh students of Class IX have received bicycles under the Chief Minister’s Special Scheme for Bicycles in 2023-24. These schemes have inspired students to pay more interest in academics, which in turn has positively impacted their results in examinations.

The Arohan Scheme launched by the government for meritorious students of classes IX to XII is ensuring career guidance, life skill management, and exposure tours to various higher education institutions for them. Under the Mukhya Mantrir Bigyan Pratibha Sandhan Achoni, which is aimed at popularizing science education, five of the recently selected students have visited institutions of higher education and research in England as part of an advanced level exposure programme. Apart from such initiatives, the government has constructed 56 model schools to facilitate English medium education for backward areas and economically disadvantaged students, established 120 model schools in tea garden areas, and upgraded 224 high schools and 67 Kasturba Gandhi Girls Schools to higher secondary level. Moreover, initiatives like free textbooks, uniforms, and mid-day meals have made education accessible and affordable for all.

A major initiative launched by the government that has made a positive impact in bringing qualitative improvement in the school education sector is Gunotsav. Compared to last year, as per assessment in Gunotsav 2024, the number of schools receiving A+ grades has increased from 29.02% to 35.75% and the number of students from 38.16% to 41.37%. The Directorate of Primary Education has recruited 80,410 regular teachers since 2013 after the Right to Education Act came into force. Of these teachers, 71,544 regular teachers have been recruited since 2016, and by the present government, a total of 36,823 teachers. These initiatives have brought about positive changes in the primary education sector in the state. According to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data for 2022-23, the student-teacher ratio in the state has declined from 37:1 in 2011-12 to 22:1 in 2022-23 in lower primary and from 21:1 to 20:1 in upper primary. Assam has achieved satisfactory results compared to the national average in the National Achievement Survey also.