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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\nGUWAHATI: Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday announced that for the time since Independence, a government in the state will be setting up high schools in tea gardens of the state.
\u201cAt present no tea garden area has a high school. There are only LP schools and few ME schools. We have finalized setting up 119 high schools in tea gardens and the foundation stones for all the schools will be laid on the same day on October 2,\u201d Sarma said.
\u201cSuch a massive move to build high schools in tea gardens in the state has never been taken up in the state. It is the first mega project to better infrastructure in education sector in tea garden areas being undertaken since independence,\u201d Sarma said.
\u201cEach high school will cater to a cluster of five to six tea gardens and we have allocated Rs 1.19 crore for building one high school,\u201d he added.
He said that the construction of the schools will be completed in six to seven months so that they will be functional from the start of the next academic session from April, 2021.
The LP schools at present in tea gardens are managed by the tea garden managements in almost all tea producing districts.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president and tea tribe leader Bhagirath Karan said that LP schools in tea gardens only in Sibasagar, Jorhat Golaghat and Ccahra districts are managed by the state government.
He said that the state government\u2019s move to set up these 119 high schools would benefit tea garden students but only in a limited way and the numbers of schools are way too inadequate.
\u201cThis was a promise of BJP in the last election and it has taken more than four years to announce it, which obviously is being done with the coming election next year. Moreover, there are 1000 registered tea gardens and the government has announced juts 119 high schools. Also, what happens after a tea garden student completes high school? There aren\u2019t enough colleges for these students to further their studies,\u201d Karan said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n