The Left youth and student organizations in Tripura have declared a four-day statewide agitation from May 21 to May 24 to protest the deteriorating conditions in the education and health sectors.
Addressing a joint press conference with the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Tribal Youth Federation (TYF) in Agartala, Students’ Federation of India (SFI) state secretary Sandipan Deb alleged a significant decline in the quality of education over the past six years. Deb pointed to the poor performance of Vidyajyoti schools, stating that the introduction of the Vidyajyoti scheme by former Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath, which aimed to convert TBSE-run schools to CBSE, exacerbated an already critical teacher shortage. “Schools across the state have been suffering from a severe lack of teachers, a situation that persists and causes considerable hardship for students,” Deb noted.
Deb criticized the state education department for its failure to address the teacher crisis, highlighting the lack of recruitment despite thousands of qualified candidates remaining jobless. “There has been no Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) examination for the past two years, and the government has yet to announce the results of the State Teacher Graduate Test (STGT),” he added.
DYFI state secretary Nabarun Deb condemned the state’s inadequate health infrastructure, particularly at the GB Hospital, the state’s primary referral hospital, which is experiencing a severe shortage of doctors and nurses. “Thousands of qualified candidates remain unemployed under the current government,” he asserted.
Nabarun Deb also criticized the government’s inability to combat the growing drug menace in the state, accusing it of allowing Tripura to become a drug hub, targeting the youth.
