The Education system of Assam needs reformation

Situated in the north-eastern corner of India, Assam is a state endowed with natural resources, minerals and biodiversity. It has its own distinct culture, which is formed by assimilation of different cultures followed by the natives of the state. Being the “Gateway of North-East”, Assam is also considered as the educational and commercial hub of the entire region. Although it is considered as the educational hub and many students from various parts of the region visits the state, the education system here, is still not up to the mark. It needs a lot of reformation in various stages, starting from primary education system.

The Education system of Assam needs reformation

The importance of education in the lives of people cannot be ignored as it plays a crucial role in shaping ones personality, intellect, etc. With the beginning of modernization, education has played vital role in modernizing Assamese people and enriching the culture. The development of modern education in Assam started when the British came into power in the year 1826. In the year 1835, secondary education started in Assam, when Captain Jenkins, the then Commissioner of Assam started an English medium school in the city of Guwahati named “Guwahati Seminari” which is the present Cotton Collegiate School located in Panbazar. In the year 1841 another school was opened in Sivsagar, which is the present day “Sibsagar Govt. Higher Secondary school”. Since then, the state had made a noteworthy development in the field of education. As per the 2011 census, the literacy rate of the state was 73.18% with the urban areas showing a higher percentage of 88.88%, and the rural areas showed 70.44%. Statistically, males and females had a discrepancy in their literacy rates; however, the urban females at 67.27% are much higher than the all India female literacy rate i.e. 65.46%.

Although, there have been several remarkable developments in the education system of Assam since pre-independence era, some reforms are still needed as it is still not upto-date. Most importantly, the education system of the state is not systematic and lacks in many aspect. There are very few qualified teachers in the primary level and since this level forms the basis of strong education, Government should appoint qualified teachers, who are properly trained. Another significant thing that needs reformation is the infrastructure of schools and colleges. The major fault lies in the infrastructure, which is not strong enough for implication of the necessary reforms. Next important reform that needs to be made is that job-oriented courses should be introduced to put an end to the long persisting unemployment problem in the state. In addition to these, modern-day techniques should be employed to impart education to students in schools and colleges.

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