Guwahati: Six teachers were unable to make five matric candidates qualify for the Class 10 boards as the govt-run Rampur Balika Vidyalaya High School in Assam’s Nalbari district recorded a “zero pass” result for the third consecutive year.The school, which serves girls from minority communities in the char areas of Nalbari district, is among 34 govt-run schools across Assam that posted a zero-pass outcome this year, triggering concern in the education department. The school has about 20 students from classes 6 to 10.Headmaster Phani Dhar Nath said, “Most of the girls were enrolled in Class 9 after passing from elementary schools in remote char areas, the shifting sandbars along the Brahmaputra. These regions are educationally backward, isolated and difficult. Many of the students come from minority communities and arrive at the school already carrying deep learning gaps.”He added that teachers attempted to bridge the gap but could not do so in time. The school had five candidates last year and all failed; the same happened the year before. Provincialised in 2013, the school has six qualified teachers — two in science and four in arts.Nalbari is considered one of Assam’s stronger districts in Class 10 performance, and nearby schools, including four private institutions, have fared better. A senior education department official blamed neglect of students in certain schools for such outcomes. “The pattern has alarmed education department because it cuts across both weak and high-performing districts,” said an official.Cachar, the lowest-performing district at 49.13% pass percentage, had six zero-pass schools, the highest among districts. Higher-performing districts also reported failures: Dima Hasao, with 88.23%, had one zero-pass school, while Sivasagar, with 84.09%, had three in the HSLC 2026 results.At Singari High School in Nagaon district, where all 24 students failed, guardians and locals protested on Saturday, accusing teachers of neglect and demanding transfers of staff they described as non-performing.Newly appointed inspector of schools for Nalbari, Ratul Kumar Das, said, “There could be no excuse for such complete failure.” He said a school with such low enrolment may not be viable. Under Assam’s Siksha Khetra policy, high schools with fewer than 100 students can be merged with nearby schools to optimise teacher-pupil ratios, reduce administrative costs and improve infrastructure use.Officials said the Rampur Balika Vidyalaya High School’s failure has strengthened a proposal to merge the school with Janata High School, Rampur, to improve the educational environment and resource use.
