GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on June 18 directed education officials to ensure that key indicators, including dropout rates, teacher-student ratios, geographical parity and gross enrolment ratios, perform better than the national average as he reviewed the state’s education sector and budgetary priorities.
The Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting attended by senior officials from the education and finance departments to assess the progress of ongoing schemes, infrastructure projects and recruitment initiatives across the sector.
After the meeting, Sarma said the government’s objective is to comprehensively transform the state’s education system and provide quality education to students.
He stated that the administration’s strategy is centred on three priorities — improving educational quality, eliminating regional disparities and expanding access to education.
“My instructions to officials have been clear — to ensure key indicators such as dropout ratio, teacher-student ratio, geographical parity, gross enrolment ratio, among others, exceed the national average,” Sarma said.
The Chief Minister also instructed officials to ensure uniform basic infrastructure in schools, including electricity, drinking water facilities, toilets and functional classrooms.
During the review, officials examined budget allocations for various segments of the education sector. Discussions also focused on the status of student financial assistance schemes, distribution of free scooters, bicycles and textbooks, and the implementation of the state’s free admission programme.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the meeting reviewed the functioning of Government Model Colleges and Tea Garden Model Schools, besides assessing the progress of teacher recruitment drives across different categories.
Measures aimed at reducing dropout rates in higher education, creation of new posts and the upgradation of high schools into higher secondary institutions also featured prominently in the discussions.
Sarma directed the concerned departments to ensure timely execution and effective implementation of ongoing initiatives, reiterating the government’s commitment to strengthening the education sector across Assam.
