Govt aid now for 419 tea garden schools

Guwahati: The Assam government has provincialised 419 tea garden-managed schools following a previous cabinet decision, which will enable these schools to get government aid henceforth.
Tea garden-managed schools have been struggling for lack of proper infrastructure and adequate teachers. Against the state’s average literacy rate of 78%, the corresponding figure for tea garden areas stands at 46%, as per Unicef.
Education minister Ranoj Pegu called this a historic move and informed that these schools will now receive midday meals, uniforms and free textbooks from the government, besides getting government-appointed teachers.
An order issued by the state school education department said in public and academic interest of the tea garden community, the government has provincialised the 419 tea garden-managed lower primary schools, two tea garden-managed ME (middle English) schools and one tea garden-managed high school.
It added that provincialisation has been done with the condition that the services of the existing teachers engaged by the tea garden management will not be provincialised. However, these teachers can continue to serve in the same school under the payroll of the tea garden concerned as on date.
In this connection, two posts of teachers for each of the 419 LP Schools, three posts of teachers for each of the two ME Schools and the posts of five teachers and one headmaster for the high school shall be created, read the notification.
“The students of the schools so provincialised shall get the benefits of free textbooks and PM-POSHAN (midday meal), free uniform etc. The recruitment of teachers shall be done at the earliest,” it added. “The concerned district elementary education officers and inspector of schools will ensure proper working relationship between the newly appointed teachers and existing tea garden engaged teachers. Further they will ensure a harmonious environment in the schools with better academic coordination,” it said.