AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATION AMONG THE TEA PLANTATION WORKERS IN ASSAM: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

Education, the most important means of overall development of any community was
found to be neglected among the tea plantation workers in Assam during the pre-independence
period both by the garden authorities and government. Therefore, many Acts and rules have been
passed by both the central and state governments for the educational development as well as
overall welfare of the garden community. Inspite of several provisions, tea garden workers are still
educationally and economically backward as compared to many workers in other sectors. Therefore
in this paper, an attempt has been made to study the overall educational status of tea plantation
workers in Assam through available secondary data. Accordingly the study showed that
educational facilities for the members of the tea garden community are below the actual needs,
both qualitatively and quantitatively. This is partly due to the apathy on the part of the guardians
who are mostly illiterate and the rampant poverty which prevent the guardians from dispensing
with the income of their children. It may also due to the indifferent attitude of the concerned.