The fact that the education scenario in Assam is fast degrading, despite ambitious plans announced time to time amid tall claims by State Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, is glaringly visible at a school in Majuli, according to a report that appeared in The Telegraph.
The river island district which is the home constituency of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has been enjoying a kind of special status since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government assumed office at Dispur.
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Or at least that is what we are made to believe.
But a visit to the No 1 Chengelisuti Primary School in Majuli will compel us to ponder whether we are on the right track of development with prime thrust on primary education.
According to the Telegraph report, this school is no short of a mediaeval time school with no infrastructure.
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The 95 odd students take classes under the open sky where only two contractual teachers impart the basic knowledge to these future nation builders.
With the monsoon knocking at the door, it is anyone’s guess that regular functioning of this ‘school’ will go for a toss.
The headmaster, who is also the member secretary of the school managing and development board, Bideswar Das, was quoted in the report as saying that the school, which has five classes, was established in 1996 and was provincialized by the government way back in 2006.
“We have given around 10 applications for infrastructure development, but the authorities have not paid any attention. The midday meals are prepared in the open and students are compelled to sit on the ground in the absence of desks and benches,” Das was quoted as saying by the Telegraph report.
The headmaster also admitted, according to the report, that during the rainy season, the school mostly remains closed because of flooding and students do not turn up.
Notably, the school could not fare well in the last Gunotsav, the much-flaunted initiative of the State Education Minister, thanks to the poor infrastructure.