Only those who study Assamese till Class 10 will get state govt jobs, says education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the Assamese will be made a compulsory subject in all schools of the state and only those who have studied the language till Class 10 will be eligible for its government jobs.

File image of Himanta Biswa Sarma. Twitter @himantabiswa

Sarma, however, clarified that the rule will be applicable to all areas in the state, barring the three Barak Valley districts and the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD), where similar clauses will be introduced for Bengali and Bodo languages respectively.

The state cabinet has taken a decision to make Assamese a mandatory subject in all mediums of schools and a Bill will be tabled in the Assembly in this regard during the Budget session, the minister told reporters on Saturday.

He also said that his two children, who study outside the state, will not be eligible for any Assam government job as they have not studied the language in school. Sarma said the state will spend Rs 3,000 crore to revamp education infrastructure in the state.

"Approximately 15,000 posts of teachers in the elementary level and 8,000 in the secondary level will be filled within the next six months," he said. In the higher education sector, 30 new colleges will be provincialised and 900 teaching and non-teaching posts regularised, the minister said.

"There are around 42,000 teachers working under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the state government will address issues of pay parity, the security of tenure and medical reimbursements over the next six months," he said.

Among other measures, introduction of science stream in colleges, the establishment of 100 high schools in the tea garden areas and upgrading of high schools to higher secondary schools are also on the cards, Sarma explained. The state government has decided to give four sets of uniforms to students of Classes 1 to 8 and two sets for those of Classes 9 and 10, he added.