Assam Public Schools Bleed Students to Private Sector

Guwahati: Assam public schools are emptying out. State government and provincialized institutions lost 735,446 students between the 2016-17 and 2025-26 academic sessions. Education Minister Ranoj Pegu confirmed this exodus on July 23 during the Budget Session of the Assam Assembly.

Families are voting with their feet. Private schools picked up 940,566 new students during that same nine-year window. The state's tally of government schools dropped by 8,591 locations. Staffing numbers tell a similar story. Public schools shed 15,326 teachers, but private institutions hired 51,214.

The state faces a staffing crunch. Assam currently operates 3,031 single-teacher schools, 15,270 schools with two teachers, and 8,115 schools with three teachers. Infrastructure remains grim. Pegu noted, "676 government schools do not have electricity connections, while 730 schools lack internet facilities."

Heat remains a major issue for classrooms. A total of 12,353 government schools operate without ceiling fans. Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi prompted the data release with his formal inquiry to the assembly. The numbers expose deep cracks in the state education system.