Assam: Unrecognised school leaves students incapable of appearing for HSLC

Biswanath, Feb 27: The mushrooming of private schools and colleges in Assam has taken a dark turn, revealing a disconcerting trend of institutes lacking official recognition, leaving students in a precarious situation. The spotlight turned to Biswanath Vidya Niketan School, located at Nambaghmara in Biswanath, where the absence of recognition has resulted in four students being unable to appear for their High School Leaving Certificate Examination for two consecutive years.

The disturbing revelation has ignited a public outcry, questioning the negligence of the institute and its impact on students' futures.

The owner and headmaster of Biswanath Vidya Niketan, identified as Utpal Phukan, faced scrutiny from the media but failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the lack of recognition and the subsequent deprivation of the students' examination opportunities.

As per sources, the school, established in 2012, has not received any recognition from the board to date, resulting in two crucial academic years being lost for the four affected students. The students who could not appear for the exams in 2023–24 were also unable to appear for the same exam in 2022–23, following which two precious years of the four students were wasted.

In a perplexing turn of events, the headmaster, Utpal Phukan, shifted blame onto the students, asserting that the incident was a result of their negligence. He further claimed that the matter had been taken to the high court. However, the students involved allege that each of them was coerced into paying Rs 10,000 under the guise of filing a case in the high court, further deepening the controversy.