The Assam government proposed a merger of the state boards responsible for grade 10th and 12th education into a single entity to streamline secondary education management. The Assam State School Education Board Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Assembly, aiming to establish a new governing body for overseeing education up to grade 12th within the state, according to an official statement.
Under this proposed bill, the existing entities, the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC), will be amalgamated to form the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB). The primary purpose outlined in the preamble of the legislation is to consolidate and enhance the regulation, supervision, and development of secondary education in Assam, the statement mentioned.
The ASSEB will be led by a chairman appointed by the government, with individual vice-chairmen overseeing specific divisions, also nominated by the government. This new board will comprise 21 members serving three-year terms, renewable for an additional period.
The decision to merge the boards was made during a state cabinet meeting in November the previous year, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Currently, SEBA administers the grade 10th board examinations, while AHSEC manages the grade 12 examinations.
This initiative follows the 2023 incidents where at least two question papers for the grade 10th board examinations conducted by SEBA were leaked. In response to the leaks in March the previous year, affecting the general science and Assamese papers, SEBA and the government rescheduled examinations for general science, all subjects of Modern Indian Languages (MIL), including Assamese, and English (IL), it added.
With inputs from PTI.