Assam Government’s Dubious Stand Detrimental to Education in the State

Assam Government is reviewing its recent announcement of giving free laptops to those who score 50 per cent marks and above in the matric examination after the Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) said the move could encourage mediocrity and thus affect the quality of school education.

Sources in the education department described chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s announcement of 50 per cent eligibility for laptops as a “spur of the moment” act. They said while ensuring more students received laptops according to his wish, the department would never compromise on the quality of education.

Till this year, students who scored 60 per cent marks and above were eligible for the sop. During the free laptops distribution function last month among the first-division holders, Gogoi announced that in order to expand IT education and make more students computer-savvy, the government would provide laptops to students who secured even 50 per cent from 2012.

 Source also said that Instead of giving laptops to all those who secure 50 per cent and above, the education department is contemplating rewarding those who ‘just miss’ the 60 per cent benchmark. Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with officials of his department, Seba and the Assam Electronics Development Corporation Limited would take a final decision in this regard. The planning and development department, which allocates funds for the scheme, will also be consulted.The scheme, designed as the Anundoram Borooah Award Scheme, was started in 2005 and more than 1 lakh students have been given computers and laptops so far.

Seba secretary L.N. Sarma said the board had discussed the matter with the education minister. He said the minister had agreed with the chief minister’s objective in spirit, but said nothing would be done to encourage mediocrity.

On the other hand, several educationists said the government’s announcement was purely for political purposes. B. Borooah College principal Dinesh Baishya said the government was spending public money to buy computers. He said it would not be a surprise if the government tomorrow announced that it would distribute computers to even those who just passed the matric examinations.

“Instead of spending money on buying computers, the government could have spent the same in construction of new school buildings and improvement of infrastructure of the existing schools,” Baishya said. Cotton College principal Indra Kumar Bhattacharyya said rewarding just about everybody would definitely encourage mediocrity.

A senior teacher of a government school said such steps could also do away with the competitive attitude among students to perform well in the matric examinations, the most important school examinations.

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Source: Sharwan Kumar Jha, Guwahati