Guwahati | The Assam government on Thursday defended its school amalgamation policy in the Legislative Assembly, stating that the exercise was aimed at improving educational infrastructure and resource utilisation rather than shutting down institutions.

Replying to questions during the tenth day of the Budget Session, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said 7,380 schools had been amalgamated between 2016 and 2026, while more than 15,000 teachers and over 4,300 schools had been brought under the provincialisation process.

No new venture schools after 2006

Responding to a query by Congress MLA Tanzil Hussain, Pegu said no new venture schools could legally be established after the enactment of the Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions Act, 2006. “There is no provision for setting up new venture schools after 2006. Any institution established thereafter is treated as a private school,” the minister said.

He noted that an earlier attempt to provincialise schools through legislation enacted in 2011 was struck down by the Gauhati High Court. Subsequently, the government introduced the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services) Act, 2017, under which large-scale provincialisation has been carried out.

Over 15,000 teachers provincialised

Providing details of the exercise, Pegu informed the House that 3,805 Lower Primary (LP) and Middle English (ME) schools, along with the services of 9,855 teachers, had been provincialised under the 2017 Act, subject to the professional qualifications prescribed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

He added that 511 Higher Secondary and Senior Secondary schools, along with 5,346 teachers, had also been provincialised. Following amendments to the Act in 2025, the government launched an online portal to receive fresh applications for provincialisation.

According to the minister, applications have been received from 3,709 schools, 52 colleges, 125 degree college streams and 23,420 teachers, with the verification process nearly complete.

Government defends school amalgamation

Defending the school merger policy, Pegu said the government had sought to rationalise educational infrastructure in areas where multiple schools were operating within close proximity despite low student enrolment. “Between 2016 and 2026, around 7,380 schools were amalgamated. Of these, 2,639 schools were merged during 2017-18, while nearly 1,000 schools were amalgamated between 2021 and 2026,” he said.

The minister explained that the policy focused on merging schools with fewer than 30 students to ensure better utilisation of teachers, infrastructure and public resources.

Akhil Gogoi raises concerns

Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi questioned the need for further provincialisation, arguing that only a few venture schools remained outside the system. He claimed that only 500 to 600 venture schools were still listed on the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) portal and alleged that nearly 8,000 schools had already been closed under the government’s rationalisation policy.

Responding, Pegu maintained that every pending application would be thoroughly verified before any decision was taken. “The fewer the schools requiring provincialisation, the better it is for the education system. We have already received around 3,000 applications, and each application will be verified before approval,” he said.

Demand for TET, ADRE centre in Hailakandi

The Assembly also discussed a demand by Hailakandi MLA Zubair Anam Mazumdar for establishing a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) or Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE) centre in the district. Pegu clarified that no TET examination was currently being conducted and said the allocation of ADRE examination centres did not fall under the Education Department’s jurisdiction.

Government to promote Sankardeva’s legacy

Separately, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika informed the House that the government remains committed to promoting the teachings and philosophy of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva across the country.

Replying to a question by AGP MLA Dipak Kumar Das, Hazarika said Sankardeva Chairs had already been established at Visva-Bharati University, Panjab University and Jawaharlal Nehru University to encourage research and academic study on the saint-reformer’s philosophy, literature, music, dance and cultural traditions.

He added that the government would also examine the feasibility of introducing scholarships and fellowships in the names of Srimanta Sankardeva, Madhavdeva and Damodardeva to further promote Assam’s Vaishnavite heritage.