Guwahati: Even As Head of Himanta’s head Buswa Sarma urged all council exam participants to get vaccinated before their examination in mid-March, the State Education Council stated the inability to stop candidates who were not vaccinated from appearing vaccination testing.
Recently the United States government told the Supreme Court that the vaccine was voluntary.
Senior officials in the State Education Department said that only about 18% of students in the age group 15 to 18 years in Assam were fully vaccinated.
However, the Ministry of Education claims that more than 90% of students who qualify from this group have been vaccinated with the first dose.
The same thing is the appropriate percentage for the council examination which is more than six lakh in the state.
“We have not received any instructions from the government which states that only candidates who have a Covid-19 vaccine, can appear for inspection.
The Education Council cannot make such a decision, unless the health department tells it,” A senior official Assam Official High Secondary Education (ASSEC) told TI on Tuesday.
CM Sarma at a press conference on Monday said the government would ask the council exam participants to make themselves vaccinated before the exam.
Categorical, Sarma said he hoped that the Secondary Education Board and AHSEC would publish direction to students to get vaccination.
“If they take vaccines now, the double dose will be completed before the board check starts,” Sarma said.
Officials in the State Education Department said that of about 10 Lakh students (15 to 18 years), around nine lakh or 94% had got the first jab.
On the other hand, around 1.83 lakh or 18% have received a second dose.
“About two-thirds of the 10 lakh students will appear in the test.
To this day, around 20% are vaccinated with the second dose but we will increase the vaccination drive for council exam participants,” the main secretary (education)), B Kalyan Chakravarthy, said to Ti on Tuesday.
State Nodal Officer for Vaccination Covid-19, Munindra Nath Nattey said conscious campaign was launched through the principal to bring all council inspection participants for vaccination.
“This is a humble attraction for all council exam participants to vaccinate voluntarily.
We do not force anyone.
But they must know that the disease is severe for people who are not vaccinated,” he said.
A total of 9.24 doses of Lakh Covaxin are available at Assam.
For children, only covaxin is used.