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Friday, March 29, 2024

Student unions’ meet with govt over dual medium of instruction inconclusive

The state cabinet, on July 28, decided that Mathematics and Science would be taught in English from Class III in all government schools from the academic year 2023.

GUWAHATI:

The crucial meeting of All Assam Students Union (AASU), All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), Asam Sahitya Sabha (ASS) and Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) with state education minister Ranoj Pegu over the issue of dual medium of instruction remained inconclusive on August 18.

“We held a meeting with the representatives of AASU, ABSU, ASS and BSS at Janata Bhawan today. We discussed the issues ranging from teaching Science and Mathematics in English, the opening of 5-10 English medium schools in every district, the opening of English medium model schools in each constituency, and the improvement of the infrastructure of vernacular medium schools. We will hold the next round of meetings within a month,” Pegu said in a tweet after the meeting.

The state cabinet, on July 28, decided that Mathematics and Science would be taught in English from Class III in all government schools from the academic year 2023. It also approved a dual medium of instruction from Classes 6 to 12 in Assamese and vernacular medium schools under the state government. Apart from that, it also decided that Geography and History will replace social studies as compulsory subjects in the school curriculum.

The decision triggered wide-spread protests from various pressure groups in the state, with leading literary and student organisations demanding the state government immediately withdraw its recent introduction of English as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics from Class 3 onwards in vernacular medium schools.

The groups also expressed their opposition to other decisions taken by the government in the education sector, including the introduction of the dual medium of instruction in government schools, stopping of provincialisation of educational institutions and shifting schools under the state board to CBSE.

“We have submitted our demands. We are clear on our stand. We can’t compromise on our issues. We agree in principle with the issue of infrastructure development of vernacular medium schools. But we don’t agree with the proposals of the government on other issues,” said ABSU president Dwipen Boro.

“Under clause 6.3 of Bodo Peace Accord, the government has to provincialise all venture schools in Bodo Territorial Region (BTR). But the government has decided to close the provincialisation process through an act passed in 2017. We say the act has to be amended further and all venture schools of the state have to be provincialized,” Boro said.

“We also opposed the government’s decision to teach Science and Mathematics in English from class III to class XII. We also oppose setting up of model English medium schools in each district,” Boro added.

AASU chief advisor Samujal Kumar Bhattacharyya said, “We have placed an 11-point charter of demands to the government. First, we oppose the provincialisation policy of the state government. We also oppose the merger of schools. Many school teachers and employees have been left over from the regularisation of their jobs. We want the government to review it.”

The policy to change the medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics and Science from Assamese to English will not only affect the students but also teachers of the subjects, the student leader said.

“But the government has failed to give any clear-cut answer. Today’s meeting remained inconclusive. We are strongly opposed to the decisions taken by the government. We demand that they re-think these and withdraw them immediately. We have submitted our charter of demands for revoking these decisions, which we feel will ring the death knell of mother tongue-language schools and ultimately for Assamese, Bodo and other languages of the state,” he added.

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