Assam Cabinet approves ₹108 crore for college fee waiver scheme

In a meeting held on Tuesday, the Assam State Cabinet approved an amount of ₹108 crore to provide reimbursement to educational institutions under the admission fee waiver scheme for the state's colleges and universities. Through this decision, the government will assist students whose families fall below the income limit prescribed by the government.

According to an NDTV report, eligible students will not be required to pay admission fees under this scheme. The amount of fee waiver provided to the students will be reimbursed by the government to the respective colleges and universities, for which ₹108 crore has been allocated.

Taking another important decision in the field of education, the Cabinet approved a proposal to involve the IIT Guwahati Research Park to develop Teaching-Learning Material (TLM) for students of Class 1 and 2. Until now, such materials were purchased from private vendors through tenders and subsequently supplied to schools.

Under the new arrangement, the state government and IIT Guwahati Research Park will jointly develop learning resources, focusing specifically on literacy and numeracy. These materials will include resources helping young students understand basic mathematics, geometry, and English. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that this collaboration will provide the state an opportunity to develop educational materials according to the needs of children, rather than remaining entirely dependent on commercially purchased products.

Regarding changes in higher education, the Krishna Kanta Handiqui Sanskrit College of Guwahati will be merged with the Bhaskar Varman Sanskrit University of Nalbari. Explaining this decision, Chief Minister Sarma stated that currently, there are only 37 students in this college, while the number of students in the university is much higher.

The Cabinet has also taken significant steps for employee welfare. The ex-gratia financial assistance provided to the families of Samagra Shiksha employees who die during service has been increased. As suggested in the state budget, this assistance amount has been increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹7.5 lakh.

In the health sector, the government has approved ₹2 crore as its share under the scheme linked with Ayushman Bharat. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that approximately 30 lakh families are covered through the Central Government's assistance, while the Assam government bears the cost of healthcare coverage for an additional 40 lakh families.