DOOMDOOMA, Jan 24 - The Dibrugarh and Tinsukia district committees of All Assam Recognised ME School Teachers� Association (2005-2006) organised a huge public meeting at the Forest Guard Training School at Makum on January 22.
The meeting was attended by retired teachers, eminent writers, representatives of different students� bodies and literary organisations. The meeting discussed the issue of provincialisation of venture schools in the State.
Though the previous State Government provincialised a section of schools by enacting a law in the State Assembly, but the Gauhati High Court in a significant judgement subsequently declared this law null and void. The Gauhati High Court verdict has obviously led to a state of uncertainty among the concerned teachers as their future prospect has become bleak. Those working in the concerned venture schools of the State are therefore passing days in a state of great anxiety.
The meeting was jointly chaired by Pradip Kumar Moran and Jyotish Saikia, presidents of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh district committees of the association respectively. The speakers who addressed the meeting urged the State Government to provincialise all the venture schools of the State soon by enacting a new law immediately. They also urged Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma not to do politics on this vital issue which concerns the future of thousands of minors, besides bread and butter of several thousand teachers.
The meeting passed a number of resolutions and urged the State Government to provincialise all the venture schools by enacting a new law during the next session of the Assam Legislative Assembly, to grant an ex-gratia of Rs 5,00,000/- each to those teachers who retired after serving in such venture schools of the State.
The meeting also urged the Government to sanction similar ex-gratia to the families of those teachers who died during their service period. Further, the meeting also decided to send separate memorandums to the Governor, Chief Minister and to the Education Minister of the State on this important matter.
