(a) Secondary education is the education of the adolescents- the most storming, yet most formative years of human life. Building on the childhood, human beings graduate to adulthood through adolescents as productive members of the society. Thus, development of a society or a state or a nation is inseparable from education of the adolescents and secondary education. Given the stage of our national development, secondary education provides the largest single educated, though unskilled, manpower to all sectors of economy. Secondary education has, hence, the single most significance to national development.

(b) Higher education that guards the development of frontiers of our nation stands on the shoulder of secondary education. A weak shoulder can offer only weak support. Primary education draws its teaching personnel from secondary education; weak secondary education can hardly produce strong and dependable teachers for our primary schools. It is necessary to understand the seminal importance of secondary education as the connecting link in the educational structure.

(c) Though expansion of secondary Education has not been on the agenda of policies on education, improvement of its quality has been recognised as a major concern. This very concern was the basis of setting up of the Secondary Education Commission in India (1953) with the objective to diagnose the growth pattern of secondary education and suggested measures for its reorganization and improvement. Subsequently, the Report of the Education Commission (1964-66) also looked into different aspects of development of secondary education. It articulated goals and objectives of education for all stages in the context of national development priorities. The National Policy on Education, 1986 recommended the implementation of a national curricular framework with a common structure (10+2+3) throughout the country. It also envisaged the building of a national system of education in which all students will have access to education of a comparable quality along with providing condition for access. The Programme of Action (POA), 1992 worked out modalities for implementation of the NPE and specified programmes for development of facilities for qualitative improvement of education.

(d) The POA 1992 recognised the increased demand for secondary education and backed the NPE 1986 by calling for a planned expansion of secondary education facilities all over the country. The need for higher participation of girls, SC/ST, transformation and reorganization of Boards for secondary education and vesting them with autonomy so that they have the ability to improve the quality of secondary education, equipping the secondary level institutions with computers so that the children develop necessary computer skills to be effective in ongoing developments in technological world was stressed.

(e) The success of SSA will definitely generate higher demand for secondary education and therefore, it is necessary to undertake planned interventions for expansion and quality improvement of secondary education.

(f) The Directorate of Secondary Education functioning under the Education Department of Assam is responsible for administrative control, Development & Expansion, Inspection & Supervision, Monitoring & Evaluation of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education including Jr. College with + 2 stage of Higher Secondary Section.

Our Vision

Every child in school
Every child learns
Every Teacher imparts teaching regularly
Every teacher gets training
Every Community member realises need of education
Every school functions regularly
Every school is visited frequently
Every educational authority functions as duty bound
Every School is made attractive

Composition of Board of Secondary education

1. Although the Elementary Education has been clearly defined in the Constitution of India as the school education for the children up to the age of 14 years, in our state, education of the children of 14 year (i.e. class-VIII) has been continuing as a part of Secondary Education since the time immemorial. On the other hand, a large number of students of Classes V to VII studying in composite secondary schools which are under the administrative control of the Director of Secondary Education. The classroom transactions in those schools are lying un-supervised and the teachers are also not trained in view of the existing administrative barrier and ongoing system of budgeting.

2. The National Policy of Education, 1986 as amended in 1992 and the POA prepared hereunder, has defined the 12 year School Education as 5+3+2+2= 12. The +2 stage of the school education in Assam is now governed under “ The Assam Higher Secondary Education Act, 1985”. Although the +2 stages are part and parcel of the school education as per “ The Assam Higher Secondary Education Act, 1985”, a large portion of this stage is still continuing in most of the Degree Colleges, even after the adoption of the Assam Higher Secondary Education Act in 1985. Since this stage is not covered under Higher Education, the UGC is not providing any financial help to the Degree Colleges for this purpose. So, it has become the burden on the Degree Colleges as well as Higher Education Sector in our state. On the other hand, most of the Higher Secondary Schools/ Junior Colleges are functioning with inadequate number of students.

Our Statutory Regulations

(a) “The Assam Secondary Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1977”.

(b) “The Assam Secondary Education Act, 1961” for constitution of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA).

(c) “The Assam Higher Secondary Education Act, 1984 for constitution of the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC).

(d) “The Assam Madrassa Education (provincialisation) Act, 1995 for provincialisation of the services of the employees of the senior Madrassa, Title Madrassa and Arabic College.”

(e) “The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation and Management) Act, 2006.

(f) “The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation and Management) Rules, 2007.

(g) Assam Secondary Education (Provincialisation) service Rule-2003.

(h) The Assam Govt. Aided Junior College Management Rules 2001.

About our Directorate

Initially all the stages of education including Medical and Technical were under the control of a single state level organisation which was popularly known as Directorate Public Instruction (DPI). This Directorate was created in 1874. Subsequently, separate structures have been created for different stages of education, such as Medical and Technical and the DPI was looking after the general education only. On 5th September 1975, the Elementary Education has been separated from the DPI and a separate Directorate has been created on 7.7.77 for Elementary Education. Thereafter, the DPI was responsible only for Secondary and Higher Education. But on 29th March 1985, the State Government vide its notification No. AR. 20/85/1, the Secondary stage has again been separated by creating a new Directorate for Secondary Education and post of the then DPI has been redesignated as Director of Higher Education. So, the present structure of the Directorate of Secondary Education, Assam has been continuing since 29th March 1985.

Administrative Oganogram

District Level Machinery

(a) Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) Assam.
(b) Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) Assam.

(a) Formulation of Five year and Annual Plans

(b) Formulation of Budget estimate, performance Budget, Control of budgets of both Plan & Non Plan.

(c) Maintenance of appropriation and re-appropriation accounts and audits;

(d) Setting of Physical targets and monitoring of achievements

(e) Implementation of various Plan scheme.

(f) Collection and compilation of various Educational Statistics and submission of report/return thereof.