The Assam Assembly was informed by the education minister that close to 1,400 government-run primary and middle schools in the state’s char and rural areas continue to operate without basic drinking water and toilet facilities, exposing glaring infrastructure gaps in the education sector. Additionally, nearly 28,000 teaching positions remain vacant across these regions.
Responding to a question raised by Congress MLA Wajed Ali Choudhury during Question Hour, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said 1,391 Lower Primary (LP) and Middle English (ME) schools currently lack functional drinking water or toilet infrastructure. Of these, 347 schools have no drinking water facilities at all, while 809 schools are functioning without toilets.
“Drinking water facilities in 134 schools and toilets in 101 schools are presently not functional,” Pegu told the House, adding that the concerned departments are taking steps to restore or install these essential amenities.
Highlighting the acute shortage of teaching staff, the minister informed the Assembly that 27,936 posts are lying vacant across schools in char and rural areas. The vacancies include 12,382 posts in ME schools, 8,251 in LP schools, and 7,303 in Upper Primary (UP) schools.
Pegu further said that the recruitment process to fill 4,500 LP teacher posts in general areas is currently underway, with document verification in progress. The Directorate of Secondary Education has also launched a major recruitment drive to appoint 9,717 teachers at various levels.
The figures presented in the Assembly underscore the scale of infrastructural and manpower challenges confronting Assam’s education system, especially in remote and vulnerable char regions
