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Kokrajhar, July 16: The All Bodo Students Union (Absu) today made it clear that it would not sit idle till its demand for a separate directorate for Bodo medium is met.
It also said it would not accept conditions on the provincilisation of schools according to the RTE Act, 2009.
Speaking to reporters at Bodofa house in Kokrajhar, Absu president Promode Boro said all the venture Bodo-medium schools should be provincialised according to Section 6 of the RTE Act, 2009, which states that all schools of mother language should be provincialised.
“We won’t accept any condition on provincilisation of the schools. If the education minister does not go with the spirit of the RTE, we will start an agitation, which we have for the time being put on hold,” said Boro.
The students’ union has demanded that Section 3 (1) (i), (ii), (iii) and 4 (1) of Assam Venture Educational Institution (Provincialisation of Services) Act, 2011, be scrapped as the section is against the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
The Assam Provincialisation of Educational Institutions Bill, 2011, will be tabled in the ensuing budget session of the Assembly that begins today with some amendments.
“We had made the amendments in the bill after having detailed discussions with teachers’ unions. The move will benefit around 95,000 individuals who have been moving the government time and again for provincialisation,” Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The minister said the government would provincialise the posts of teachers and employees belonging to venture schools in a phased manner by 2016.
Welcoming the move of the state government to amend the act, Boro said, “We welcome the move of the government but the amendment should be beneficial for all and according to the spirit of the RTE Act, 2009.”
The Absu president also expressed surprise on the statement of the education minister that the government would provincialise the posts of teachers and employees belonging to venture schools in a phased manner by 2016. “According to the directive of the RTE, the entire problem should be solved by April 1, 2013. How come the education minister is saying that the government will solve the problem of venture schools in a phased manner within 2016? Who will take the responsibility of these schools till then?” he asked.
Absu general secretary Jiron Basumatary said the government should also regularise the teachers under the education guarantee scheme as they have been rendering service for the past 11 years.
The union said, “If the problem of Bodo medium need to be solved, then there is a need to create a separate directorate for Bodo-medium schools. Why isn’t the Assam government creating a separate directorate?”
On making Assamese a compulsory subject, the Absu said, “If Assamese is imposed in Bodo-medium schools, then Bodo, too, should also be taught in Assamese-medium schools.” It will be a burden on the students studying in Bodo-medium schools, as they have to learn three languages Bodo, English and Hindi, Boro said.
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