Reported by Mrinal Banik
Agartala: The Tripura Pradesh Congress and the Youth Congress on Monday alleged that the state was facing serious challenges in education and employment, citing findings from the NITI Aayog’s 2026 report, and demanded steps to address the issues.
Addressing a joint press conference at the Pradesh Congress Bhavan, party leaders also sought the withdrawal of annual fees in Vidyajyoti schools and other government and government-aided institutions, claiming that such charges were contrary to the provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009.
Congress spokesperson Partha Acharya said the NITI Aayog report noted concerns over rising school dropout rates, a shortage of teachers, and inadequate digital and smart classroom infrastructure in the state.
He alleged that quality education remained a challenge and claimed that many of the assurances made under the Vidyajyoti project had not been fulfilled.
Acharya urged the state government to stop collecting fees from students in Vidyajyoti and government-aided schools and to ensure free education in accordance with the Right to Education Act.
The Congress leader also expressed concern over reported irregularities and digital disruptions in several national-level examinations, including NEET, SSC-GD, CUET, UPSC, and CBSE examinations, and called for action against those responsible.
Youth Congress president Neel Kamal Saha highlighted the employment situation in the state and referred to the NITI Aayog’s 2026 report on unemployment.
He said Tripura’s contribution to the national apprenticeship programme was less than 0.1 per cent and alleged that limited industrial development and a lack of employment opportunities had affected job prospects for young people.
Saha claimed that despite a large number of teachers retiring over the past several years, vacancies in the education sector had not been filled.
Referring to Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) candidates, he said 368 candidates qualified in TET-I and 1,488 candidates qualified in TET-II in 2024 but had not yet received appointment offers.
He alleged that nearly 2,000 TET-qualified candidates had been awaiting recruitment for around two years and urged the government to expedite the appointment process.