Assam govt disburses Rs 5L aid to families of 13 deceased contractual teachers

Guwahati, June 12: Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu distributed financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of 13 deceased contractual teachers and educational staff, on Thursday.

In a sombre ceremony at the Samagra Shiksha Assam office in Kahilipara, Guwahati, the Minister said that the assistance is part of a contractual provision for employees recruited under Samagra Shiksha Assam, a society under the state’s Education Department.

According to Dr. Pegu, these teachers were brought into the education system during Chief MInister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s tenure as Education Minister and their jobs were almost regularised at the time.

“These teachers were given a contractual assurance of service until the age of 60, subject to annual performance appraisals. While there is no pension provision, we had clearly mentioned in the contract that if a teacher dies during service, the government would provide Rs 5 lakh as financial assistance to their family,” said Dr. Pegu.

Today, the Education Department received complete documentation from 13 families, enabling the disbursement of aid. However, 93 other families are yet to submit necessary documents such as the next-of-kin certificate, which is mandatory to process the aid.

“We are awaiting certificates from 93 more families. Once we receive them through the district commissioners, we will process their cases too,” added the Minister.

In the same address, Dr. Pegu issued a stern warning to unregistered schools across Assam. He stressed that no educational institution will be allowed to operate without valid registration and the required internal infrastructure.

“Strict instructions have been issued to SEBA, AHSEC, and district officials. We will not allow children to be enrolled in unregistered schools. The Education Department will run awareness campaigns to alert parents,” he said.

With the new academic year approaching, the Minister said that a committee of educationists and intellectuals will be formed to assess the potential changes in the calendar.

“We plan to form a committee of learned educationists and retired principals and then we will decide on whatever suggestions they give us. Instead of the department taking the decision, we prefer taking the advice of the learned educationists," he said.