Assam Government Plans To Stop Teacher Recruitment In Colleges With Low Student Enrolment

GUWAHATI: The Assam Government is mulling to halt the recruitment of teachers in colleges and is considering the prospect of merging institutions or certain departments within them where there is low student enrollment.

Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said that this move falls in line with the government's policy of amalgamating schools with low enrollment numbers.

Pegu took to 'X' to inform that the Higher Education Department convened a meeting with the principals and governing body presidents of 79 colleges with less than 500 enrollments to discuss strategies for increasing enrollment.

The Education Minister of Assam emphasized the significance of improving the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education and he assured that the state government is treating this as a top priority.

Consequently, Ranoj Pegu directed the higher education department to draft a policy for the merger of colleges or departments having lower numbers of students, similar to the one implemented by the school education department.

The Assam government intends to merge colleges or departments having low enrollment and cease the recruitment of teachers for vacancies in such departments.

Notably, the state government has shut down numerous schools in the last few years through the amalgamation process.

Under the process of amalgamation, the Education Department merges one school with another for various reasons such as low student numbers, inadequate infrastructure, unfavorable pupil-teacher ratios, and high operational costs.

Meanwhile, earlier last month, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed concern over the state of higher education in the state and revealed that the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) remains at a robust 17 to 18 per cent. 

He highlighted the substantial lack of progress despite the state government’s huge investment in the sector in the last year.

While acknowledging a shift in students' perceptions towards pursuing various courses, including technical ones, Sarma indicated that the GER figures do not align with these observations. 

Henceforth, he urged the Higher Education Department to scrutinize the discrepancy and devise strategies to address the underlying challenges.

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