Struggling Garo schools in Assam set to revive – Education News

Educating children in Garo medium schools in Assam bordering Meghalaya was a big problem some time back because teachers here were not qualified in Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET), a recognition which was made mandatory for teaching in schools a decade back.

But all that has changed now, thanks to the initiative of an educator, who helped train local Goro-speaking youths and 13 out of 33 of them cleared the TET exam conducted by the state government in October this year. The youths can now take up teaching assignments in government Garo-medium schools.

Linguistic and religious minority Garos in Assam had been struggling to protect their language after the bifurcation of Meghalaya in the 1970s. Apurba Thakuria, who is the inspector of schools, has not only helped preserve the language but has also ensured the language gets promoted. On a missionary mode, he set out to transform the education scenario of these Garo-speaking villages.

Fringe villages inhabited by the Garo community, mostly in Kamrup and Goalpara districts of Assam, lack modes of communication and internet to connect them with the rest of the world. During the peak period of Garo and Ulfa insurgency, many villages, along the Assam-Meghalaya border, witnessed violent clashes between extremists and security forces.

Thakuria said “Our first task is to ensure that government-run Garo medium schools don’t get closed down because of a lack of Garo teachers. Teaching in the vernacular medium is essential and has been endorsed in the New Education Policy.”  There are 72 Garo elementary schools in Kamrup district where 115 teachers are appointed.

The same is the issue in Goalpara where Garo schools are struggling for survival due to lack of adequate teachers. Many are functional with a single teacher and the quality of education has been heavily compromised. “There is a massive dearth of teachers in Assam who can teach in Garo. Many teachers do not want to go to the Garo inhabited areas in the remote borders,” he added. “If we fail to produce more TET qualified teachers, there will be a huge crisis in Garo schools once the senior teachers retire,” he said.

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