Profile of Assam Education System

The history of modern education in Assam dates back to 1826 with the annexation of Assam with the British Empire in accordance with the treaty of "Yandabu”. The report of late W. Robinson, who was appointed the first Inspector of Schools in 1840 for the Brahmaputra Valley speaks of the terrible condition of the educational institutions prevailing at that time. However, it was only after Independence in 1947 that a rapid development took place in the field of education. Various commissions reviewed the problems of educational reforms. In the later part of the last century Policy on Education (1986) was adopted at the national level.

The Assam Secondary Education Act, 1961 was passed to provide for the establishment of a Board of Secondary Education to regulate, supervise and develop Secondary Education in Assam. SEBA or Board of Secondary Education is the state level authority for conducting examinations and providing quality education to the students of Assam.

In Assam, the government has given education a lot of importance and has followed policies and decisions taken at the national level for implementation in the state. It follows the mandate of National Policy on Education (1986) and Programme of Action (1986, revised in 1992) in terms of intervention in Higher Education. The University Grants Commission and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) plays a major role in the quality aspect of it.

Basic Education is compulsory for all in Assam. After completion of Grade 10th students get various choices of study streams and these options at higher education level. Depending on interests and needs students can pursue education as long as they want or choose to start a work life. For a detailed education scenario in Assam see the following sections of this website.