All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) to Organize State-wide Sit-In Demonstration on January 8, 2025

Kokrajhar: The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) has announced a state-wide sit-in demonstration on January 8, 2025, to address long-pending educational demands of the Bodo community and urge the Assam government to act on these issues. The peaceful demonstration will be held from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at all district headquarters in Assam, with participation from ABSU members and the general public.

Despite repeated representations and discussions with government departments, ABSU states that the demands of the Bodo community remain unmet. Highlighting the urgency, ABSU President Dipen Boro emphasized the importance of prioritizing these issues for the educational upliftment of the Bodo people.

Key Educational Demands:

1. Inclusion of Bodo as Language 1 in the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET).

2. Establishment of 35 new ‘Model High Schools’ in the Bodo medium.

3. Upgrading 101 Bodo-medium high schools to higher secondary schools with adequate teacher recruitment.

4. Immediate provincialization of venture schools by implementing Clause 6.3 of the BTR Accord.

5. Appointment of Academic Officers for Bodo medium in the Assam State Education Board (formerly SEBA).

6. Recruitment and appointment of a Lecturer in Bodo language at SCERT.

7. Appointment of translators for Bodo language under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

8. Recruitment of permanent teachers for schools under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS).

9. Introduction of Bodo as a medium of instruction in Model Degree Colleges in Baksa, Dhubri, and Balipara.

10. Distribution of educational books in Bodo at Anganwadi centers.

11. Recruitment of Assistant Professors for Bodo departments in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) colleges.

12. Transfer of trained Bodo-medium teachers to Bodo-medium schools.

ABSU has called on all concerned citizens and stakeholders to participate in the peaceful protest. General Secretary Khanindra Basumatary added that the protest reflects the community's aspiration for justice and quality education.

The union urges the Assam government to address these demands urgently to ensure meaningful progress in education for the Bodo community.