GUWAHATI: Assam has been ranked among the top states in India to give free education to its students. A whopping 70.8% of the students in Assam receive free education.
'Free education' implies there are no tuition fees, however, the student might incur expenditure for textbooks, stationery, uniform, and so on. No money is charged for tuition, lab fees, exam fees, etc.
As per the 2018 data provided by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, almost half of all students in India do not have to pay fees for their education. Bihar tops the chart in this regard with 73% of students receiving free education, followed by Assam at 70.8% and Odisha at 70.4%.
“The government provides 100% free education from Lower Primary (LP) to Senior Secondary level. We even provide uniforms to students up to class 10. Along with that, midday meals are also given to kids till class 8 and all of this is free," Buli Gogoi Bhuyan, district elementary education officer of Kamrup (Metro) told G Plus.
Most of the free schooling happens in government schools. 77% of the students studying in government institutions were receiving free education (nearly 81% in rural areas and 62% in urban areas) while in private unaided institutions, it was 2% in rural areas and 1% in urban areas.
In addition to free education, several additional scholarships are provided to students to advance their education. In government schools, 19% of students and in private schools, 4.6% of students got scholarships, as per a survey conducted by the ministry.
Region-wise, the central band of India has the majority of students who receive free education, as per the Household Social Consumption on Education in India.
