According to a survey conducted by Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association (ASPTA), over 300 government-run elementary schools in the state are functioning without any teachers, raising question marks about the quality of education imparted to students at the foundation stage.

The survey revealed that 314 primary schools are functioning without any teacher, with the highest 55 in Tezpur educational sub-division, followed by 38 in Dibrugarh and 37 in Guwahati.

The survey also said that the highest 224 single-teacher schools are in Guwahati educational subdivision, despite being close to the policy makers. However, in Dibrugarh and Goalpara educational sub-divisions, the corresponding figures are 215 and 167 respectively.

According to the report of the survey, Morigaon educational sub-division has the highest 342 single-room schools. It also found that 3,716 schools are functioning with a single teacher, whereas in 1,664 schools, several classes are being imparted from one room.

In this backdrop, the association has questioned the relevance of education department's plan to organise Gunotsav every year to gauge the quality of education in the government schools instead of addressing the loopholes.

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ASPTA president Akhil Chandra Nath and general secretary Ratul Chandra Goswami in a statement said, "In Guwahati educational sub-division areas, which come under Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup districts and can rightly be termed as the home districts of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, 37 schools are on the verge of closure. On the other hand, in education minister Ranoj Pegu's home district Dhemaji, 17 schools are without teachers.”

The survey was conducted across 33,829 schools located in 51 educational sub-divisions in 32 districts where the association has its presence. The ASPTA claimed that the number of single-teacher schools is even more alarming, if the situation of three hill districts is incorporated.

"Overall, there are 4,444 government elementary schools in Assam where one teacher is compelled to teach in multiple classes simultaneously. If that only teacher goes on leave or is assigned other duties by the government, teaching comes to a halt," said Goswami.

He further stated that according to data furnished by the education minister in the assembly in 2020, the number of single-teacher schools in Assam was 3,085, but the same crossed 4,000 by January this year.

"Still, we don't have toilets in over a thousand schools. In over 10,000 schools there is no electricity," Goswami claimed, alleging that the government has not supplied new desk-benches in the last 20 years.

The ASPTA demanded to officially appoint full-fledged headmasters in all the primary schools of the state.

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