ASSAM

Assam board flip-flop questions future of Assamese study in schools

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The Board of Secondary Education, Assams (Seba) flip flop on making Assamese Learning mandatory has raised questions on whether the Assamese language will continue to be taught in schools mushrooming in the state.

English is taking over as the medium of instruction in place of lingua franca Assamese in many English medium schools. Besides, there is a tendency to study Hindi by a section of students instead of Assamese.

After making Assamese study compulsory without making it mandatory for qualifying in the Class 10 boards, Seba has withdrawn its latest notification that had triggered a fresh controversy regarding the study of Assamese language in schools affiliated to Seba.

Assam denies fudging rhino census data

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TheAssam forest departmenthas denied allegations of “manipulation” of rhino census data at the Kaziranga and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) – a UNESCO world heritage site, flagged by an RTI activist who accused the park authorities of jacking up the total rhino count from 2,042 to 2,634.

Calling the charges baseless, Assam principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force (HOFF) MK Yadava wrote to the Union forest and Environment ministry to take “suitable action” against RTI activist Rohit Choudhury, who he accused of sharing compartment-wise presence of rhinos in the park, despite restraint by the park director.

The 14th rhino census was carried out at the KNPTR in March last year, which counted 2,634 one-horned rhinos in the park. The final computation of data was carried out on March 28 and 2,613 was the total number of rhinos arrived at during computation.

Choudhury said that in the final computation, the enumerators data of March 26 and 27, 2022, pertaining to 22 blocks was deleted, and the increased numbers of the sample survey of March 28, 2022 were substituted, to jack up the total count from 2,042 to 2,634.

Some positive development over AFSPA in 2022 : Assam CMAssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Saturday said “some positive development” regarding Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which is in vogue in the state, is expected during the year.The Army, he said, has virtually withdrawn from Assam, except for six-seven districts and when AFSPA comes up for renewal later this year, the state government will take a “pragmatic decision”. As far as AFSPA is concerned, Assam will see some rationalisation in 2022.

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The AFSPA has often been termed as “draconian” by of the north east because of the special powers it grants to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in “disturbed areas” and its withdrawal has been demanded by civil Society groups and rights activists. It was imposed in Assam in November 1990 and has been extended every six months since then after a review by the State Government.

The demand for repeal of AFSPA from the north east came to the fore in December last year after 13 civilians were gunned down by the Army in a botched anti-insurgency operation in Nagaland and another person was killed in subsequent violence. The demand was made to the Centre even by the chief ministers of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

Rs 1,000 Cr-Assam varsity will upskill NE youths: Himanta

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Assam Chief MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarmaon Sunday asserted that the Rs 1,000 crore-Assam Skill University will upskill youths of Northeast. Performing ‘bhumi pujan’ for the institute at Darrang district headquarters Mangaldai, around 70 km from Guwahati, Sarma said that the institute will harness the demographic dividend of Assam, which has a very young Population.

“The Rs 1,000-crore institute will have multiple schools and centres of excellence that will play a huge role in upskilling the youths in Northeast. The university will have various campuses across Assam,” he said.

Sarma said a target has been set to complete the construction of the entire campus by August 2025 but an interim complex is expected to start functioning from 2024 itself.

The skill university, first-of-its-kind in Assam and third such institute in the country, will impart Education for Skill development in different sectors such as and innovation, life skills and languages, and design and creativity, through its various schools and courses.
It is being partially funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Call for steps to restore ecosystem

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Environmental experts have called for immediate steps for ecosystem restoration, which was the theme for this years World Environment Day celebrated.

Guwahati city is a key example which is witnessing rapid ecosystem degradation, where surrounding hillocks with forest cover has been destroyed and altered from the original FOREST ECOSYSTEM. Deepor Beel, Assams lone Ramsar site situated adjacent to the city, now faces sheer magnitude of the challenges due to the human interventions. In the past 20 years, Guwahati lost key wetlands like part of Silsako Beel, part of Deepor Beel and Sola Beel in Paltan Bazar almost gone.

The blowout in Baghjan village last year had a significant negative impact on the ecosystem and the experts have continued to warn against human interventions in the environmentally sensitive areas and asked authorities to remain alert so that such incidents dont happen again.

Peaceful Assam forging in development, asserts Governor Kataria

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Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, said with peace being restored in Assam, the state has witnessed remarkable Growth and development in along with significant improvement in law and order situation in the state in the past one decade. The Governor reached Silchar as a part of his three-day visit to Barak Valley districts. While taking to reporters after meeting with the officials of the Cachar District Administration and taking review of the implementation of the various schemes floated by the government, Kataria said, Situation in Assam has changed in the past one decade. I am happy to see that the state has made commendable development in the infrastructure front in terms of road and rail connectivity. Also, the law and order situation has improved significantly which is a positive sign. I am sure with peace being restored, development will accelerate in the state.”

Student enrolment in non-pvt schools in Assam rises during pandemic

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The total number of students in all government, aided and non-private schools across Assam has increased by over 63,000 during the 15-month period since September 2020, according to official data. The Education Department has recently collated the enrolment figures of all students from Classes I to XII and found that the total number has increased despite apprehensions of dropout due to the impact of the pandemic.

According to a datasheet, which is available with PTI, the grand total of students in government, aided, tea garden managed and venture (established by the people of a locality) schools have increased to 56,84,487 in November 2021 from 56,21,203 in September 2020. The figures showed an increase of 63,284 students, registering a Growth of 1.13 per cent in total enrolments. Out of this, the highest rise has been witnessed in the elementary section, comprising Classes I to VIII, with 72,097 more enrolments in the 15-month period. There were 44,92,085 students in the elementary section of all the non-private schools of Assam in September 2020, which increased to 45,64,182 in November 2021.

‘More than 4,000 schools shut in Assam during Covid’

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More than 4,000 schools, from primary to secondary levels, mostly under private management, shut down inAssambetween April 2021 and March 2022. The Education ministry has attributed this to the impact of Covid-19.

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report by the ministry published earlier this week shows that the impact of the pandemic forced 20,000 schools to close down across the country during the same period.

Sources in the state education department pointed out that the ‘s policy of amalgamation of government schools has also contributed to a noticeable decline in the number of schools in the state.
A decline in the number of schools has been reported from all the northeastern states.

The closure of the schools has also reduced the teacher strength both nationally and at the state level.

The teacher strength in the country from the primary to the higher secondary level, reduced from 96.96 lakh in 2020-2021 to 95.07 lakh in 2021-2022.
The number of teachers in Assam declined to 3.52 lakh in the latest report from 3.7 lakh, which accounts for nearly a 10% reduction in teacher strength in the country.

Eviction drive to clear forest land of encroachment in Assam’s Lumding forestThe Assam government launched a two-day eviction drive to remove illegal settlers from Lumding reserve forest in Hojai district in compliance with a Gauhati High Court order, officials said. This comes a month and a half after an anti-encroachment exercise in the Gorukhuti area of Darrang district in which two people were killed and over 20 injured. The eviction drive was peaceful on Monday as most of the people had left the place in the last few days following counselling by the district administration about the high court order to make the forest encroachment-free, Hojai Deputy Commissioner Anupam Choudhury said. Tight security measures were in place with the deployment of seven additional companies, including four CRPF and three Assam Police battalions, to prevent any untoward incident during the exercise.

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The forest, a major habitat for elephants, is spread over 22,403 hectares of land out of which 500 hectares are under encroachment at present, an official said. In the first phase, the drive was conducted in Kamarpani and Betnala areas of the forest, Choudhury said. The District Administration has engaged elephants of the forest department and requisitioned excavators to clear the land. The illegal settlers belong to a mixed Population of the minority and tribal communities. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters in Guwahati that most of the illegal settlers have land in different places and they mostly encroach for Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture or business purposes.

Assam to give scooters to nearly 36,000 meritorious students

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TheAssam governmentwill distribute scooters among nearly 36,000 meritorious students, mostly girls, who have passed this year’s higher secondary examinations.

A proposal for implementing the programme at a cost of Rs 258.9 crore was passed by the state cabinet on Wednesday,Education Minister Ranoj Pegutold reporters after its meeting chaired byChief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Total 35,800 students — 29,748 girls who secured first division and 6,052 boys who secured 75 per cent marks — will get the scooters, he said.

The Department of Higher Education will also provide financial assistance for registration and Insurance to the students, he added.