Assam government to shut 34 schools due to POOR RESULTS, over 500 students fail in Class X boards

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Assam has decided to shut down 34 state-run schools after none of their students passed this year`s High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) or Class 10 examinations. Seven of these schools are from Karbi Anglong district, 5 each from Jorhat and Cachar, 2 each from Dhubri, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and 1 each from Golaghat, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Nalbari, Hailakandi, West Karbi Anglong Chirang, Darrang and Dibrugarh districts.

According to the Assam Secondary Education Department, more than 500 students from these schools appeared in the HSLC examination this year conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Assam (SEBA), but none of them passed the examination.

Assam Education Minister, Dr Ranoj Pegu, said that it is meaningless to spend taxpayer money on these schools with zero success rate. Minister Pegu also said that there are many other schools in the state where the enrolment of students is very low.

"If there are no students, how the school will survive, in a few schools, there are only 2-3 students. The primary duty of schools is to impart education. If a school`s result in the HSLC examination is zero, then it is better not to have such a school. The government can`t spend taxpayer`s money for zero results," Dr Ranoj Pegu said.

The state’s Education Minister also said that these schools will be merged or amalgamated with neighbouring schools. "And for this merging process, some schools will be shut down. We will try to move the new school forward with a new look. It is a continuous process, there are around 2000-2500 such proposals in the state and we are examining it and we are trying our best to keep these schools," the Assam Education Minister said.

According to the state’s Education Department, recently the department has received proposals and data from more than 290 government-run schools in the state where enrollment of students is very low and results are also not satisfactory.

(With agency inputs)