Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 27 : Expressing confidence in the state's trajectory, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma affirmed Assam's goal of securing a leading position in India's education sector by 2030.
"State government endeavours to establish Assam as a leading state in the education sector by 2030. The Assam government's commitment to public education is one of the strongest in the country. Assam's per student investment, number of government schools and total student intake in public schools is much higher than that of Tamil Nadu," CM Sarma said.
On Thursday, CM Sarma attended an event at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati, where the results of Gunotsav 2025 were announced.
Additionally, schools that attained an A+ grade in Gunotsav 2024 were each awarded a grant of Rs 25,000. As part of the Arohan initiative, 4,320 students received tablets, and Samagra Shiksha Assam was conferred with an ISO certification.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Sarma remarked on Assam's educational progress, noting that Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Assam, is the first state-run program in India to receive ISO certification from the Quality Council of India.
He commended Education Minister Ranoj Pegu and Mission Director Om Prakash for this accomplishment. He also acknowledged the educational reforms initiated in 2012, particularly the introduction of a transparent, merit-based teacher recruitment system.
Since its inception in 2017, he added, Gunotsav has played a pivotal role in enhancing education quality in Assam, shifting its focus from purely academic evaluation to ensuring transparency and uniformity in standards.
CM Sarma highlighted the state's educational progress, citing the increase in A+ grade schools from 6,307 in 2017 to 13,300 in 2025, while A grade schools rose from 12,927 to 13,952.
The number of lower-grade schools saw a marked decline, with B grade schools decreasing from 13,636 to 4,243, C grade schools from 9,163 to 891, and D grade schools from 7,105 to 218.
Announcing the Gunotsav 2025 results, he stated that Sivasagar secured the first position, followed by Golaghat and Dibrugarh. Sivasagar maintained its top rank for three consecutive years, while Golaghat entered the top three for the first time. In the cleanliness rankings, Golaghat, Kamrup (M), and Jorhat secured the top positions.
Notably, for the first time, the assessment included students' learning outcomes, with report cards made available on the portal. He urged headmasters to utilise the learning outcome booklet for students' benefit.
The Chief Minister further announced that Gunotsav 2026 would be conducted mid-year due to the forthcoming legislative elections.
He instructed the Education Department to appoint 20 per cent of external evaluators from both public and private sectors and proposed the creation of a distinct cadre for single-teacher schools with restricted transfers.
Additionally, he recommended the establishment of a ten-member commission of former educators to assess whether educational progress should be measured through institutional expansion or qualitative improvements. He underscored the necessity of practical training for TET-qualified teachers, advocating for a minimum of eight months of classroom experience before recruitment and a two-year probationary period for new teachers.
Moreover, he highlighted the appointment of headmasters in schools with at least 50 students and emphasised merit-based promotions within the Education Department so that that teachers with a minimum of ten years' experience in Samagra Shiksha would qualify for head teacher positions.
Today's event was attended by Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Minister of Education, etc. Ranoj Pegu, Minister of Agriculture etc. Atul Bora, and Minister of Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture, etc. UG Brahma.
Additionally, Secretary of the Department of Higher Education Narayan Konwar, Mission Director of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Dr Om Prakash, and other senior officials from the Education Department were present.