Assam considers 25 per cent seat reservation for poor students in private schools

The Assam government has given in-principle approval to reserve 25% of seats in private vernacular medium schools for meritorious students from low-income families, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Friday.

The proposal, which is still in its conceptual stage, will now be opened for public opinion before a final decision is made. "We have approved the concept and now seek public opinion. If everything goes fine, then we will roll out the scheme from the next academic year," Sarma stated during a press conference.

Under the proposed scheme, the government will reimburse the fees for the students selected under this reservation quota. The schools, which must apply to the Education Department to be part of the scheme, will conduct their own entrance exams to identify eligible students. The reservation will apply exclusively to select reputable vernacular medium schools, including Assamese, Bodo, and Bengali institutions, but not to English medium schools.

In addition to this, the state cabinet has approved several other key decisions. Small businesses with an annual tax demand of up to ₹5 lakh will now be exempt from GST notices, offering relief to approximately 90,000 businesses. The cabinet also sanctioned the creation of 1,766 graduate teacher posts for mathematics and approved the inclusion of 19 more villages in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts as part of the Bodo Accord implementation.