Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 20 : Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma presented appointment letters to 377 TET and TET-cum-Recruitment qualified candidates from the Tea Tribe and Adivasi communities at a programme held at Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Thursday.
With this, Assam's tally of government recruitments since 2021 has reached 1,35,376 through a fully transparent, merit-based process.
Moreover, at the same programme, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma handed over funds to educational institutions to waive fees for students from BPL families who took admission in Higher Secondary First and Second Year, as well as in the four-year undergraduate courses, for the academic year 2025-26.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma said that the government has fulfilled the promises made during the 2021 Assembly election campaign.
"Although the commitment was to appoint one lakh youth to government jobs, as of today, 1,35,376 candidates have been appointed through a completely transparent process," he said.
He clarified that this figure pertains only to regular posts under the Assam government, and does not include contract-based appointments made under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, National Health Mission, etc.
Dr. Sarma said that appointment letters have been distributed at public functions to inspire others to work hard and secure government jobs.
Citing the relatively small number of successful candidates from the Tea Tribe community, he said that even 75 years after Independence, no educational institutions other than primary schools have been established in tea garden areas.
"To create a pool of highly educated youth from tea gardens, the present State government initiated the establishment of Model Higher Secondary Schools. 120 such schools have already been set up, and construction of 100 more will begin in January. Considering that there are 800 tea gardens in Assam, around 200 Model Higher Secondary Schools have been planned, and more will be built if required," the Chief Minister added.
He said the government will ensure that students in tea garden areas can pursue education up to Class XII in the Model Higher Secondary Schools and that seats will be reserved for Tea Tribe students in colleges located in tea garden areas.
"Furthermore, to ensure that students are taught in a language they can understand, teacher posts in Model Higher Secondary Schools will be reserved for candidates belonging to the Tea Tribe community. Besides, a 3 per cent reservation has been introduced for Adivasi and Tea Tribe communities in all Grade III and Grade IV jobs under the OBC category. Reservations will also be extended to Grade I and Grade II government jobs.
Calling this transformation a silent revolution," the Chief Minister said that this revolution does not involve agitations or strikes, it is a revolution that transforms people's lives.
He noted that no demands were ever raised for reservations for the Tea Tribe community, for establishing high schools in tea garden areas, or for conferring land ownership rights to workers living in labour lines. The government has now reserved three MBBS seats for Tea Tribe students in medical colleges, and arrangements are being made to produce 50 doctors annually from the community, along with 250 seats in paramedical courses.
Dr. Sarma highlighted the ongoing initiatives under the Shaheed Dayal Das Panika Self-Employment Scheme, financial grants for pregnant women working in tea gardens as wage compensation, and the establishment of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs to improve healthcare services in tea garden areas. All these measures, he said, have significantly improved the lives of the Tea Tribe community over the past five years.
The Chief Minister, moreover, observed that today's teacher appointments are like planting saplings that will grow into banyan trees ten years from now.
"With land ownership rights now granted to tea garden workers, many of their children will explore new opportunities beyond traditional tea garden work," the Chief Minister said.
He urged the newly appointed teachers to serve in tea garden schools and help guide the next generation towards progress. He also announced that strict measures will be taken to prevent individuals from other communities from securing benefits meant exclusively for the Tea Tribe through fraudulent documents.
The Chief Minister said that with free admissions and the Nijut Moina scheme, girl students now receive Rs 1,000 per month from the government. He stated that the present government has given high priority to education, and public schools now have higher enrolment than before.
The Chief Minister said that after establishing Model Higher Secondary Schools in tea garden areas, several other communities have also requested similar schools, which reflects growing trust in the public education system.
Dr. Sarma said that the government has spent Rs. 8-10 crore on constructing each school, and nearly 1,000 High Schools and Higher Secondary Schools have been built anew. Initiatives such as free bicycles for students, scooters for girl students, free admissions, monthly stipends under Nijut Moina, and waiver of examination fees for HSLC and Higher Secondary exams have together created a safety net for poor and middle-class students studying in government institutions.
Dr. Sarma said that no student in Assam now needs to drop out due to financial constraints. Assam has become one of India's leading states in educational investment, the Chief Minister observed.
Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu, Cooperation Minister Jogen Mohan, Tea Tribe and Adivasi Welfare Minister Rupesh Gowala, MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, MLAs Sanjay Kishan, Rupjyoti Kurmi, Terash Gowala, Diganta Ghatowal, and several senior officers of the Education Department were present on the occasion.