Guwahati, June 21: The Congress on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, blaming him for the state’s sharp decline in education rankings and accusing the BJP-led government of wrecking the public education system.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, former APCC president and ex-Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora said Assam has fallen to 34th out of 36 states and union territories in the Ministry of Education’s 2024-25 “Best States Index,” calling it a national embarrassment. “This is the result of a decade of mismanagement. For 10 years, we’ve been told Assam would be in the top five. Instead, we’re second from the bottom,” Bora said.
He held Sarma personally responsible, recalling controversial past remarks where Sarma, as Education Minister, allegedly mocked teachers by calling them “malto.” “When someone who insults teachers becomes Chief Minister, the collapse of the education system is inevitable,” Bora said.
The Congress leader cited damning data from UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education), showing Assam’s dropout rates far exceed national averages. The school drop out in lower primary is 6% (national average of 1.5%), Upper primary 8.8% (national average: 3%) and upper secondary is 20.3% (national average: 12.6%).
He also slammed the government for repeated exam paper leaks, claiming that matric and higher secondary question papers were leaked seven times in 10 years. “A serious government would prevent a second leak. In Assam, it’s happened seven times. That’s a system in collapse,” he said.
Bora further criticized the mass closure of nearly 7,000 government schools under the BJP, accusing the government of sacrificing access in the name of “school mergers.” “This is a betrayal to the rural and marginalized communities. Education is being systematically dismantled,” he said.
He added that 170 lecturers recruited under the temporary 3F rule in engineering colleges and polytechnics had been unceremoniously terminated without proper APSC regularization. “These lecturers have served eight years. The government had the responsibility to conduct the exams, but instead, it fired them and ignored their protests,” Bora said.
On teacher morale, Bora said the government continues to exploit 3,000 high school and higher secondary tutors on fixed pay, causing resentment and a deep sense of discrimination among staff. “In the same school, one teacher draws full salary while another does the same work for a fraction. It’s an institutional humiliation,” he said.
He also highlighted the poor treatment of support staff. “Midday Meal cooks are kept on contracts, paid minimum wages, and still not regularized. Even the Midday Meal program isn’t being implemented properly anymore,” he added.
Bora condemned CM Sarma’s communal remarks, accusing him of spreading hatred instead of focusing on governance. “This is the man who said pork should be thrown in religious places in retaliation. This is not a leader. This is a threat to constitutional values. He has turned protector into a predator,” he said.
The Congress has demanded the reinstatement of the 170 terminated lecturers, regularization of TET teachers, an end to school closures, and urgent action to rescue Assam’s declining education system.
