97 schools to open next month in Assam tea gardens: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI: For the first time, government high schools are being set up in tea gardens with 97 of them scheduled to start academic session next month, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

To augment the academic environment in the tea gardens, the state government decided to set up 119 model high schools in these areas, Sarma said while addressing the teachers and principals of these newly-built schools at an orientation programme. Of these 119 schools, 97 have been completed and the academic session will start on May 10, he said. The remaining schools will be functional by the next academic year, the chief minister said. These schools will be later upgraded to the higher secondary level, he said.

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Sarma claimed that it was for the first time since Independence that high schools were being set up by the government in tea garden areas, as per an official statement. The state government is going to set up another 81 model high schools in tea garden areas and these will be upgraded to higher secondary levels, he added.

Apart from mid-day meals, the government is also planning to provide breakfasts to students at these schools, Sarma said. He said that teachers are being appointed in these schools in two categories -- one set of teachers are recruited specifically for these schools, and another set comprises those who are transferred to these schools from already provincialised schools.

The state government intends to develop this as a successful model for the rest of the country to follow, Sarma said. The government is working to set up one model school in each assembly constituency, he said.