Assam as an Educational Destination

Updated on: Mar 18, 2013

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Assam has one of the most extensive networks of higher educational institutions in the entire North-Eastern region of India.

The Government of Assam introduces innovative education polices to create a center of attention for aspiring students all across the country. Assams largest city, Guwahati is a major destination for students of the entire north-eastern region for higher education

Presence of institutions including the Indian Institute of Technology (Guwahati), National Institute of Technology (Silchar), Tezpur University (a Central University), Assam University (Silchar) and K.K. Handique State Open University, adds stature to the education system of Assam which already encompasses elite higher education institutions like the Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, Assam Medical College (Dibrugarh), Guwahati Medical College, Assam Agricultural University (Jorhat), Assam Engineering College (Guwahati) and Jorhat Engineering College (Jorhat).

These on the whole, make Assam the top edu-destination both at the state level and national level.

Today, the state of Assam is home to six universities, one deemed university, one institute of national importance and several reputed professional institutions.

The colleges of Assam (including medical, engineering and law colleges) are affiliated to Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, Assam University and the Assam Agricultural University.

The demand of technical education in the state has been well understood by the State Government and due attention is being paid towards rapid development in this field. The institutions offering professional courses are rapidly growing along with the other institutions which mean the students of Assam will be exposed to newer areas of opportunities. Thus, the whole educational scenario of Assam is improving gradually.

There are also a large number of higher secondary schools in Assam.

The medium of instruction at the school level is generally Assamese; however, some schools also use English as their medium of study.

The Assam Government has introduced the policy of free and compulsory education for students up to the age of 14.

The state has recently made strides in setting up several high standard institutions to provide education in the field of engineering and management. Assam has an overall literacy rate of 64.28%. While male literacy rate is at 71.93%, the female literacy rate however is only at 56.03%, a cause for concern for the State Government.

Geographical Data
Density	340/km²
Area	78,438 km²
State Boundaries	East	Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur
	West	West Bengal and Meghalaya
	North	Arunachal Pradesh
	South	Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura
International Boundary	North	Bhutan
International Boundary	West	Bangladesh
Geographic	Latitude	24° to 28° North
Coordinates:	Longitude	90° to 96° East
Forest Cover	35.48 %

Statistical Data
Population (2001)	2,66,55,528
Literacy Rate	64.28% (2001 Census)
Sex Ratio	1000 : 965
National parks	5	Kaziranga
		Manas
		Dibru Soikhua
		Nameri
		Orang

Wildlife Sanctuaries	18	Pobitora
		Sonai Rupai
		Bura-Chapori
		Laokhowa
		Pobha or Milroy
		Chakrashila
		Bornadi
		Garampani
		Gibbon
		Nambor
		East Karbi Anglong
		Karbi Anglong
		Pani Dihing
		Deeporbeel
		Bordoibum Beelmukh
		Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni
		Morat Longri
		Amchang

Refineries	4	Digboi
		Noonmati
		Dhaligaon near Bongaigaon
		Numaligarh

Universities	6	Dibrugarh University at Dibrugarh
		Gauhati University at Guwahati
		Assam University at Silchar
		Tezpur University at Tezpur
		Assam Agricultural University at Jorhat
		K.K.handique State Open University

Engineering Colleges	4	National Institute of Technology, Silchar
		Jorhat Engineering College at Jorhat
		Assam Engineering College at Guwahati
		Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati

Medical Colleges	3	Assam Medical College at Dibrugarh
		Guwahati Medical College at Guwahati
		Silchar Medical College at Silchar

District	Pre Primary Schools	Primary Schools	Middle Schools	High School	Higher Secondary	Jr. College
DHUBRI	-	1624	434	156	34	4
KOKRAJHAR	2	1282	218	73	15	1
BONGAIGAON	5	965	261	116	17	1
GOALPARA	-	1150	286	148	13	-
BARPETA	17	2064	417	283	41	11
NALBARI	9	1599	386	256	28	13
KAMRUP	49	2490	518	484	65	11
DARRANG	11	1581	281	220	31	8
SONITPUR	13	1465	280	212	36	5
LAKHIMPUR	1	1648	534	254	25	7
DHEMAJI	9	1078	283	146	13	3
MORIGAON	-	921	292	127	14	3
NAGAON	21	2230	575	304	58	6
GOLAGHAT	7	1125	265	162	23	1
JORHAT	18	1761	443	253	26	10
SIBSAGAR	12	1805	426	185	41	2
DIBRUGARH	12	1304	382	141	25	3
TINSUKIA	5	1080	230	106	19	1
KARBI ANGLONG	-	1162	286	163	12	-
NORTH CACHAR HILLS	-	660	205	68	6	-
KARIMGANJ	4	1402	347	92	25	1
HAILAKANDI	2	1127	260	40	9	-
CACHAR	2	1713	410	147	28	1

Number of Teachers:

District	Primary		Middle		High School		Higher Secondary		Jr. College		Arts, Science and Commerce College
District	*T	*F	*T	*F	*T	*F	*T	*F	*T	*F	*T	*F
Dhubri	3165	697	3310	370	1618	341	1139	180	56	17	350	74
Kokrajhar	2717	652	2456	399	1014	272	575	172	15	6	173	32
Bongaigaon	2686	747	1899	336	1567	423	613	129	16	6	184	38
Goalpara	2322	633	2157	355	1589	350	466	70	13	5	221	42
Barpeta	4453	998	4771	772	3990	557	1560	228	159	49	476	105
Nalbari	4508	930	2416	283	3688	784	1064	216	196	60	298	84
Kamrup	5068	1217	3063	450	5490	1560	2326	952	183	57	1610	333
Darrang	4034	1000	3217	533	2528	554	1061	191	130	39	232	63
Sonitpur	3513	1174	2069	510	2569	646	1129	295	74	24	361	116
Lakhimpur	5194	1988	2767	585	3408	824	811	203	102	32	568	133
Dhemaji	2559	920	1399	259	1538	238	502	63	46	16	372	78
Morigaon	2063	574	1877	389	2157	748	440	72	86	29	198	38
Nagaon	6220	2252	3667	898	4118	1126	2140	723	56	6	596	111
Golaghat	2523	913	2470	768	2157	748	741	274	30	14	593	138
Jorhat	3677	1402	2670	815	3616	979	816	239	146	45	631	234
Sibsagar	9444	4420	5095	1982	2078	852	1442	553	59	19	609	238
Dibrugarh	3599	1485	1648	500	1669	629	976	424	45	14	550	163
Tinsukia	2995	1090	1609	553	1709	651	645	263	43	16	281	75
Karbi Anglong	2538	898	1440	250	1581	367	382	93	Nil	Nil	186	38
N.C. Hills	2279	1169	1232	267	826	245	193	68	Nil	Nil	98	32
Karimganj	3300	922	1735	323	1219	268	791	225	15	6	333	89
Hailakandi	2558	733	2446	419	610	197	420	106	Nil	Nil	195	60
Cachar	4159	1481	2892	769	2794	969	943	241	44	10	330	66
Assam	85574	28295	58305	12785	52797	13861	21175	5985	1514	470	9445	2380

*T- Total, *F- Female

Directorate of Secondary Education, Assam

Performance of High School Leaving Certificate Examination in Assam

Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA)

District/ Year	Total Appeared	Total Passed				Percentage (%)
District/ Year	Total Appeared	1st Division	2nd Division	3rd Division	Total	Percentage (%)
2003	175183	9596	17786	49892	77274	44.11
2004	184771	11843	21359	58809	92011	49.79
Dhubri	7786	280	702	2730	3712	47.67
Kokrajhar	5598	154	367	1091	1612	28.79
Bongaigaon	5363	280	540	1691	2511	46.82
Goalpara	4431	176	442	1379	1997	45.06
Barpeta	11835	604	1530	4465	6599	55.75
Nalbari	10450	525	1259	3616	5400	51.67
Kamrup	23556	3167	3668	7682	14517	61.62
Darrang	9891	476	1072	2857	4405	44.53
Sonitpur	8961	692	1115	2984	4791	53.46
Lakhimpur	8826	373	766	2573	3712	42.05
Dhemaji	7977	198	600	3251	4044	50.69
Morigaon	4610	160	405	1318	1883	40.84
Nagaon	10601	811	1419	3338	5568	52.52
Golaghat	6971	323	659	1723	2705	38.80
Jorhat	9579	691	1218	3113	5022	52.42
Sibsagar	10031	630	1139	3752	5521	55.03
Dibrugarh	8447	769	1071	2648	4488	53.13
Tinsukia	5989	411	810	1634	2855	47.46
Karbi Anglong	4873	114	379	1091	1612	28.79
North Cachar Hills	1838	91	183	326	600	32.64
Karimganj	4434	231	391	1260	1882	42.44
Hailakandi	2991	123	352	961	1436	48.01
Cachar	9733	569	1272	3400	5241	53.84

Source : Statistical Hand Book, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Assam

District Wise Literate People

District	Male	Female	Total
Kokrajhar	230769	152772	383541
Dhubri	373446	251923	625369
Goalpara	220277	164393	384670
Bongaigaon	258761	181100	439861
Barpeta	448021	304661	752682
Kamrup	930256	677935	1608191
Nalbari	387002	270923	657925
Darrang	407632	277366	684998
Marigaon	210586	156706	367292
Nagaon	665697	499920	1165617
Sonitpur	494965	335614	830579
Lakhimpur	292261	214172	506433
Dhemaji	181645	122961	304606
Tinsukia	355444	232858	588302
Dibrugarh	406265	291883	698148
Sibsagar	382936	289222	672158
Jorhat	375400	285191	660591
Golaghat	322048	235312	557360
Karbi Anglong	232652	149922	382574
North Cachar Hills	63610	42744	106354
Cachar	474145	350292	824437
Karimganj	319205	230914	550119
Hailakandi	155674	107873	263547

Total number of employees serving under the Administrative control of Higher Education Sector comes to 14,535 only. The enrolment from Higher Secondary to post Graduate level are as follows:

S. No.	Institutions	Strength
1.	H.S. (Arts)	256958
2.	H.S. (Science)	27074
3.	H.S. (Commerce)	17965
4.	Degree (Arts)	133919
5.	Degree (Science)	30346
6.	Degree (Commerce)	16051
7.	Master Degree in Arts	7442
8.	Master Degree in Science	3944
9.	Master Degree in Commerce	1077
10.	Ph.D.	744
11.	M.Phil.	756
12.	L.L.B.	7140
Total		5,03,416

Percentage of passing

Year	Pass Percentage HSLC	Pass Percentage HS-Science	Pass Percentage HS-Arts	Pass Percentage HS-Commerce
1997	28.94	62.70	54.59	54.36
1998	31.23	70.94	53.00	55.84
1999	32.13	60.10	47.97	56.26
2000	38.69	58.90	42.55	40.29
2001	33.27	53.03	48.86	58.93
2002	40.87	58.61	45.95	40.95
2003	44.11	63.94	46.44	60.47
2004	49.79	66.79	53.79	64.70
2005	53.07	67.68	40.08	64.80
2006	53.54	72.52	40.11	62.55
2007	54.93	68.44	61.50	67.14