Guwahati, Oct 3: Opposing the state government’s decision not to hold the primary school scholarship examination, the Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association (ASPTA) has demanded its restoration, asserting that Gunotsav can’t be made a substitute or criterion for scholarships. The association has set an October 15 deadline for the government to announce its decision to resume the examination, failing which it threatened to launch a democratic agitation involving parents of primary school students, student and youth organisations and parents’ bodies across the State.

ASPTA president Ratul Chandra Goswami said the scholarship examination has traditionally been the first major academic recognition for students at the primary level and its discontinuation would adversely affect public education. Strongly objecting to the Education Minister’s contention that irregularities in the conduct of the examination were behind its discontinuation, the association said problems in implementation should be addressed instead of doing away with the examination itself.

It also rejected the idea of using Gunotsav as the basis for scholarships. The teachers’ body argued that Gunotsav is not a mandatory examination and its nature and purpose are fundamentally different from those of a competitive scholarship examination.

Tracing the history of the scheme, the association said the Education department had for years conducted the examination for students completing primary education. Initially, successful students received Rs 50 per month for 18 months.

Following demands from the teachers’ body for enhancement of the amount, the Tarun Gogoi government subsequently raised the scholarship to Rs 5,000 each for 50,000 students. The examination continued under this arrangement from 2012 to 2020.

When it was not held in 2021, the association took up the issue with the government and was informed that the delay was due to plans to revise the scholarship policy. It alleged that even after five years, no new policy has emerged.

Terming the latest decision a severe blow to public education, the association urged the government to reconsider it, arguing that the scholarship examination provides both recognition and motivation to children studying in government primary schools.