The Assam government on Wednesday introduced free transport services for school students from communities residing in tea garden areas, marking one of the transformative moves in the education sector under the newly formed government. This is a first-of-its-kind government initiative launched for the students in districts with tea gardens.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma praised the programme and described it as a last-mile measure to ensure that students residing in tea garden areas can access education. Around 10,000 students from Classes I to X have been brought under the scheme.
To ensure that no child stays away from school because of transport difficulties, Samagra Shiksha Assam (SSA) began the transport/escort facility for students in tea garden areas from Wednesday. Sarma called it a significant initiative for children in tea garden regions and stated in a social media post, “The transport/escort facility for the students will ensure that they have no hindrance in pursuing their studies. This is the last mile effort apart from other initiatives already in force.”
State Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said the scheme is intended to provide safe and free transport/escort facilities to students from deprived and marginalised communities living in tea garden areas, with the aim of improving regular attendance. The transport/escort facility for students in tea garden areas during 2026-27 is being implemented in Biswanath, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts.
“In some areas, the students have to walk a long way and there are transportation issues,” Pegu said. He added that, depending on how well the scheme performs, it could be expanded to other parts of the state. Pegu said SSA will cover a monthly cost of Rs 600 per student, and the spending will be met from the SSA budget.
SSA officials said the programme will largely support students whose schools are more than 1 km from their homes. Government funding of Rs 5,400 per student for the academic year will be released to the respective School Management Committees to organise local transport arrangements.
