Assam Government To Merge Class 10, 12 Boards Into One New Entity

GUWAHATI: In a bid to reform the education boards in Assam, the state government has proposed to merge the state boards for Classes 10 and 12 into one single entity to manage secondary education on Wednesday.

The Assam State School Education Board Bill, 2024 was introduced in the state government in the Assembly to form a new body to administer the education system till Class 12 in the state.

The bill will allow the merger of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, (SEBA) and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) into one single entity namely the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB).

The preamble of the legislation stated that the bill has been enacted to "regulate, supervise and develop Secondary Education in the state of Assam by merging the existing Board of Secondary Education, Assam, and Assam Higher Secondary Education Council".

The ASSEB will be headed by a chairman, to be nominated by the government. An individual vice-chairman will be assigned with the task of administering each division under the chairman and he or she shall be nominated by the government.

A total of 21 members will be there in the new board. They will enjoy a tenure spanning three years which can be renewed for an equal period.

In the Statement of Object and Reasons of the Bill, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said that the objective is to introduce the Assam State School Education Board Bill, 2024 in order to develop, regulate and supervise the standards and quality in school education in the state of Assam.

The decision to merge the two entities was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet earlier in November last year, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

It is to be noted that the Class 10 board examinations are conducted by the SEBA while the Class 12 examinations are looked after by the AHSEC.

Meanwhile, the move comes in the wake of the leaking of at least two question papers in the Class 10 board examinations by SEBA in 2023. The general science and Assamese papers were leaked in March last year.

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