LexThe Assam Elementary Education Act, 1962
Assam · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this actUC 11 CU LS . ASSAM ACT No.XXX OF 1962 THE ASSAM ELEM EN TA RY ED UC AT IO N ACT , 1962 (As pas sed by th e Assembly ) R ec ei ved t he ass en t o f th e G ov er no r on th e 3r d O ct ob er 1962 [Published in the Assa m Ga zette, Ex tra ordin ary , dated the 5th Oc tob er 196 2J io w oke reamblc An Act provision for the managem ent and co nt ro l oj ele me nta ry educ ation to pro vid e for free and com pu lso ry elemenlaiy ed uc at ion in Assam Whereas it is expedien t to make be tte r provision for the develop men t, expansion, manag em ent and con trol of elem ent ary edu cation ; Ard whereas it is further expedie nt th at free and compulsory elem entary education should be introdu ced i» the S tat e in gra dual stages ; It is h ereby enacted in the T hir tee nth Yea r of the Re pu blic of In dia as follows PA RT I CH AP TE R P re lim in ar y Sh ort tit le , 1. (1) T his Act may be called the Assam Elemen- ex ten t an d t g ry E ducat ion A,c t, 1962. fnen” e n C e (2) extends to the whole of Assam except the Autonomous Di strict s: 10 7 Definitions. Prov ided th at the Gov ernor may , with the consent of th e Distri ct Council concern ed, exte nd all or any of the provisions of this Act to all or any of the Au to nomous District s on such date or dates as may be no ti fied in this behalf. (3) It shall come int o force at once. 2. In this Act, unless the re is anything rep ugnant in the subject or co ntex t;— (a) “Area of com pulsion ” means an are a specified or the purp ose of mak ing elem enta ry education com pulsory und er section 41 ; (A ) “Atten dan ce Au tho rity” means any person app oin ted to be an att endance au thority under sectio n 47 ; (c) “ Auto nom ous District” mea ns the autonomou s districts u nde r the S ixth Schedule to the Con stitutio n of Ind ia ; (< /) “ Basic Tr ain ing Cen tre” means an In stitu tion in which teach ers are tra ine d in Basic Edu cation ; (e ) “ Block Development Officer” mea ns the Execu tive Officer app oin ted by the Gover nment to be in-charg e of a C omm unity Dev elop men t Block ; (_/) “ Ch ild ” means a person of either sex, o f such age, betw een six and fourteen years, or as the State Governmen t may , from time to time , prescribe ; (g) “D istrict Council” mea ns a Dis tric t Council constituted under sub-p ara gra ph (I) of pa ragrap h 2 o f the Sixth Schedule to the Const itution of In di a ; (A ) “E lem ent ary Ed ucati on ” means edu cation upto such class or sta nd ard , not beyo nd the eighth class or sta nd ard, as may be prescribed ; (i) “ Ele mentar y Sch ool” mea ns a school wher e elem enta ry edu cation is im parte d ; (j ) “ Gua rd ian” means the perso n to whom the duty of taking care of, brin ging up or the custody of. the child has been entru ste d by law or custom, or by any lawful autho rity, or who has in fact accepted or assumed such du ty, or has actu al custody of such child or where such gua rdian cannot be readily asce rtained such person as the Local Authority shall decide ; IO S Q f/ “Local Au tho rity ” means a Mun icipal Board as defined in the Assam Mu nicipal Act, 1956, a Tow n Ass am Act Com mittee as established under section 335 of 'the XV of said Act, and a Gaon Pa nchayat estab lished un de r 19 57‘ the Assam Panchayat Act, 1959: Assam A c t XX IV of Provided that the Sta te Board shall be deemed 1959. as Loca l Authority for the areas not covered by Mu nici pali ty, Tow n Com mittee, Gao n Pan chayat and ' District Council ; (7 ) “Ma nageme nt” means an d includes such powers and functions in resp ect of the Local Aut hor ities arid of Dis trict Councils as have bee n laid down in this Ac t; (m) “N otif ication ” means a notificatio n published in the Official Gazette ; (») “Pre scr ibe d” means pres cribed by rules made, tinde r this Act ; (0 ) ’"Recognised School” means a school recog nised under this Act ; (/) “School Board ” mea ns a Regiona l Boa rd for basic edu cation constituted under section 76 of Assam Ac' the Assam Basic Edu cati on Act, 1954 • XXVI of 1954. (q) “State Boa rd” mea ns the Sta te Board for km en ta ry Edu cation con stituted under section 3, C H A PTER n S ta te B o ard , its c o n s ti tu ti o n a n d P o w ers a n d fu n c ti o n s State Board 3 (J) 'J’ jjg St ate Go vernm ent shall con stitute a State Board for Ele me nta ry Edu cation to advise Governme nt for the develop men t, expansion, ma nage ment and control of elementary edu cat ion in the State. (2) Th e Sta te Bo ard shall be a bod y corpo rat e with perpe tua l succession and a common seal, and shall sue a nd be sued by the nam e of the Sta te Board for Elemen tary Edu cation. I t shall be com petent to acq uire and to hold movabl e and imm ovab le pro per ty, . to tran sfer any such pro perty so held by it, and io do all othei acts necessary for carrying ou t its duties and functions under this Act and the riiles made thereu nder. 109 Co oiit itut ion 4. (l) Th e Sta te Board shall be const ituted with Hea rd S ta tC the following mem bers :— .(i) Th e Minis ter of Educa tion , by virtue of his office, who shall be the Ch air ma n of t he Boa rd. (ii) Th e De puty Minister of Ed uca tion, by vir tue of his office who shall be the Vice- Ch airma n of the Board. (in) The Directo r of Public Instru ction by virtue of his office. (in ) The Jo in t Direc tor o f Pub lic Instructio n or the Officer in-c harg e of Elementary Educa tion by wha t ever nam e he may be des ignated, by virtue of his office, wh o shall be the S ecre tary of the Board. (r) Th e Assistant Director of Public Instr uctio n in-charg e of Wom en’s E ducatio n. (vi) On e Inspec tor of Schools, to be nom inated by the State G overnm ent. (z m ) One Prin cipal of a Basic Tr ain ing Cen tre to be nom inated by the State G overnm ent. (viii) Five representatives to be electe d by the Assam Legislativ e Assembly from amo ngst its memb ers. (fx ) One repr esentative lrom each of the District Councils of the Autonomous Districts. (x) One Chairma n of a Mun icipa l Board or a Tow n Comm ittee to be nom ina ted by the Sta te Government. (xi) Two Presidents of Mo hkum a Parishads to be nom inated by the State Gov ernm ent. (xii) Three me mb ers to be nomin ated by the State Governmen t w ho will be edu cationists and of whom one will be a woman. . (xiii) Members n ot exceeding thr ee in num ber to he nom inated by the Sta te Gov ern ment to serve such oth er interests as, in the opinion of the Government, shou ld specially be repr esented. (xD) Ch air ma n of the State Social Welfare Board . . (xn ) Two repre sentatives of teac hers of Lower Prim ary and Mid dle Ve rna cul ar Schools to be nomi- aats d by the State Gov ernm ent. 11 0 (2) No person shall be entitl ed to continue as a mem ber under clause (iwt ) of sub-section (1) if he ceases to be a member of the Legislative Assembly. (3) No person nom inated or app oin ted by virtue of his office under this section shall con tinu e to be a member of the State Board, if he ceases to hold that office. (4) Seven members shall form the quorum. Publication of the names of members of the State Buard. 5. As soon as the St ate Board has been con stituted, the names of the mem bers the reo f shall be notified by the Sta te Gov ernmen t. r the State Board. Term o f . . . oS ce of the 6 . (1) Subject to the oth er provisions of this Act, me mb er of every member of the Sta te Board shall hold office for a ter m of three years from the date on which the notification under section 5 has been published. On the expiry of such term , a member shall be eligible for re- appo int me nt or re-electi on. » (2) A casual vacancy occ urring in the Sta te Board at any time d uring the term of three years shall be filled for the r em aining por tion of such term in the oame m ann er in whic h the mem bers hip, th at falls vac ant, was originally filled u p. (3) Th e Sta te Board shall be com petent to exercise all its powers at any tim e notwithstan din g the fact th at any vacancy or vacancies in its membersh ip may rem ain unfilled for the time being. (4) Notwithst anding the expiry of three yea rs specified in sub-section (!), every member of the Sta te Board shall con tinu e to hold office unt il the first meeting o f the next Sta te Board at which a quoru m is present. Re signat ion 7. Any memb er of the State B oard may resign his of me mb er- mem bership at any time by giving notice thereof in ship. writing , to the Chairm an who shall forw ard the same to the Gover nment. Th e memb er shall be deemed to hav e vac ate d his mem bership as soon as the Governme nt has accepte d his res ignatio n, Cessation of 8. Any member of the Sta te Board who is not membership, a mem ber by virt ue of office may be removed from office by the Sta te Governm ent if he is absent from three consecutive meetings thereof and fail to offer reasons for such absence which are considered sufficient by the Sta te Governm ent I l l Removal of 9. Th e State Governme nt tnay, of its own motion me mb ers i o r o n t jl e recommendation of the State Board, remove any member of the State Board if the State Gov ernm ent is satisfied th at he has been guilty of misconduct in the discharge of his duties as such member or of any con duct involving mora l tur pit ud e or has becom e incapa ble of performing such duties by reaso n o f any physical or men tal infirmity: Provided th at no such member shall be so removed unless th e recommenda tion , when there beany, for such removal has been mad e by a resolu tion passed in a meeting of the S tate Board in which at least two- thirds of the total numb er of memb ers were pr es en t: Provide d furthe r th at no member shall be so removed by the State Gov ernmen t of its own motion, nor shall any resolutio n reco mmending his removal be of any effect, unless he has previously been given a reasonable opp ortunity of showing cause why he should not be so removed or why such recommen dation should not be made. Dudes and 10. Th e Sta te Board sha ll have the following func - Board. (a) to lay down principles for allo cati on of gra nts for carryin g out the purposes of this Act, to the local auth orities ; (& ) to lay down proced ure a nd conditions and to bold such tests as may be necessary for recruit me nt of teachers of elem enta ry schools on such terms and cond itions of service as may be prescribe d ; (c) to lay dow n cond ition s for recogn ition, ex pansion and am alg am ation of elem entary schools, and o pening of elem entary schools ; and (d) to do any othe r ac t which the State Board considers necessary for carrying ou t the purposes of this Act fully and effectively. Responsjbi- n . Notwith standing a nything conta ined in section Sta te °f Go- a n c* notwithstanding an yth ing con tain ed in this vernme nt. Act, the respo nsibility of pro per a dminis trat ion, super vision and inspe ction of elem enta ry education and of arrang em ent of pro per tra ini ng of teach ers shall lie w ith the Governm ent. Th e G ove rnm ent shall also d etermine the curriculum and du ratio n, sta nd ard and syllabus of the course of ins tructio n to be imparted in an elemen tary school. 112 Cha irm an to 12. Th e Ch air ma n ,und in his absen ce the V ic e- , ; pre side ove r Ch airma n shall preside over the meetings of the Sta te mee ting s. Board , and in the absen ce of both the mem bers pr e sent shall elect one of the m to preside over the mee ting. Po we rs an d 13. Th e Secre tary of the Sta te Board shall be the du tie s of t he Princi pal Administrat ive Officer of the Boa rd and, ec ic a iy . sBall exercise such powers an d perform such duties as may be req uired for car rying out the purposes of this Act. He shall also perform such oth er duties and exercise such oth er powers as may be prescribed. The Assis- 14. (1) Sub ject to the provisions of sectio n 26, ta n t Secre- the De puty Inspecto rs of Schools, by virtue of office, tar ies , th ei r sBall be the Assistant Secretaries of the State Board, pow ers and (2) Th e He adq uar ters and j uri sdiction of the Assis ta nt Secretaries shall be the same as those of the Deputy Inspecto rs. (3) Th e Assistant Sec reta ry shall exercise powers an d perform duties as follows in hie o wn ju risd ictio n:—; . , \ (t) to ope rate the fun d placed aC his disposal bv he State Board ; (i/1 to appoint his office staff and manage his office prop erly ; (m) to appoint teach ers in recognised schools c n the advice of a Co mm ittee constitu ted by the State Board un de r section 16 and tran sfer the m as necessary and also gran t such leave, other tha n casual leave, to them a» may b e admissible ; (w) to mak e pay me nt of conting ent expenditure to schools and salaries to the teac hers an d othe r employees of the Sta te Board , if any , in the area concern ed by himself or thr ough the Block Develop men t Officer or thr ough such oth er officer as may he specified by the Governme nt for this p urp ose; ( z > ) to mak e pay ments to the local aut horiti es for pro per ma intenance of schools in the ma nner prescribed ; .til; ’ . I (w) to make such o the r pay men ts inclu ding scholar ships as may be prescribed ; (w 'z ) to ma intain pro per accounts of the fund , placed at his disposal ; (viii) to carry out such oth er duties as ma y be entrusted to him by the Secretar y, Sta te Board for th e purpose o f carrying out the provisions of the Act. 113 Rules of 15. Th e State Board shall perfo rm its duties and uiness. carry out its functions in a ccor dance with such rules ot business as ma y be prescribe d. CHAPTER III AD VISO RY CO M MIT TE E FO R STA TE BOA RD Advisory 16 (1) Th e State Board shall con stitute an Co mm ittee Advisory Com mittee for the purpose of app oin ting Bo ard ^ teachers under section 14(3) (iii) and salaried att en dan ce auth orities under section 47 consisting of thre e members in each De pu ty Inspec tor’s Circle o f the State. (2) Assista nt Secretaries of the State Board shall be the mem bers of the Advisory Comm ittees in add itio n to thre e members of the Com mittee under sub-section (1) above. (3) Th e ten ure of the Com mittee shall be thre e years. (4) Th e Com mit tee shall advise the Assistant Secretaries o f the Sta te Board in t he manner prescribed. CHAPTER IV EL EM EN TA RY ED UC AT IO N FU ND Elementary I7 . (1) A fund her ein after called the Elemen tary Edu cation Educa tion Fund, shall be created and ma int ain ed by I’u n d l the Sta te Board . (2) The following shall form pa rt of an d be paid into the Ele mentary Education F und:— (t) All sums of money that may be in the State Basic Edu cation Fund, constituted under section II Act^XXVI of the Assam Basic Educa tion Act, 1954, on the o f 1954. date on which this Act comes into force ; (it) such grants as may be ma de by the Sta te Go ver nment to the Sta te Board for the pur pose of elem entary edu cation ; ( t it ) all income derived from any end owme nt or pro per ty owned or manag ed by the Sta te Board for the purposes of this Act ; and (fo ) all othe r sums of mo ney th at may b e received by, th e Sta te Board under. or for the purposes of this Act. Ap pli cation 18. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the oi the Fun . Elem entary Edu cation Fund shall be app lied for: — (i) pay ment of gran ts to the local aut horiti es and to the District Councils, as the case may be, for the purp ose of elem enta ry edu cation ; (n) pay me nt of gran ts to a school au thority or oth er auth orities, if any , on specific projects and schemes on eleme nta ry edu cat ion ; Explan ation.—‘‘School Aut hor ity’ means the Ma nag ing Com mittee or the He ad of the Institu tion or the pro pri eto r, as the case m ay be ; (iii) pay me nt of salaries of the officers o f th e St ate Boa rd, and its office expenses ; (ivt pay ment of such retireme nt benefits, gra tuities and con trib utions to the Provident Funds in resp ect of the officers of the Sta te Board as may be prescribed ; (v) pay men t of such trav elling an d other allowances to mem bers and officers of the State Board as may be prescribe d; and (»i) pay me nt of any oth er sums which the State Board is legally liable to pay, or of any othe r liabili ty as may be prescribed. No te, —Th e Assistant Secretaries of the State Board shall be deem ed to be local aut hor ities under, and for the purp ose of this section. Administra- 19 Th e fund shall be adm inistere d by the t/o n of th e Secr etary of the State Board and the accoun ts shall fun d. be O pe r a te d by him. Re ceipt an d 20. (1) All moneys received for this pur pose of the ex pe nd itu re. Ele mentary Educa tion Fun d shall fort hwi th be paid into an accoun t opened in the Government Tre asury or in a Bank approved by the State Gov ernm ent. (2) No exp enditure shall be incuir ed from the Elem entary Educa tion Fund except for the purposes of this Act and unless such expenditure has been provided for in the budget of the Srate Board ap proved by the Sta te Governm ent. Bu dget. 21 . (1 ) On receipt of the estimates from the Assistant Secretaries and the District Councils, or otherwise, the Sta te Board shall pre par e the a nnu al budget estimates before the comm encement of the next finan cial year at such time and in such ma nner as may b e prescribed# 115 (2) Such budget estim ates shall include the probable receipts and expe nditure of the year concern ed on accoun t of Elemen tary Edu cation. (3) Th e bud get estimates as app roved by the State Governm ent shall be treate d as the final bud get of the State Board. (4) Th e Sta te Board shall be com petent to make re-app rop riation from one head to anoth er with in the app roved budget Ac c ounts 22. Th e Sta te Board shall keep accounts of all and audits. its r e c e jpts and expendit ure and such accounts shall be aud ited by an au dit or app ointed by the State Gov ernm ent. CHAPTER V L O C A L A U T H O R I T IE S P O W E R O F M A N A GE ME NT OF EL EM EN TA RY SCHO OL S Manage- 23. As soon as this Act comes into force, the thro ugh man age ment of e lem entary schools shall, subject to local such cond itions as may be prescribed, vest in the authorities local au tho rity of the area conce rned. and District Councils. Co-ordina- 24. areas where the Assam Panch aya t Assam A it ting agency. Act, 1959, is in ope ration the Block Development XXIV Officer or, where there is no Block Development of l95g Officer, such oth er officers as may be specified by the Gov ern ment in this behalf, wit h the help of such officers o f the Ed ucation De partm ent, as may be attach ed to him , shall act as a Co-ord inating agency betw een the Gao n Pan cha yat s and the State Board. Powers and functions of local autho rity . 25. (1) Withou t pre jud ice to any of the pro vi sions of this Act in general and of sectio n 11 in pa r tic ula r, a local au tho rity in which the manag ement of E lem enta ry Educa tion has vested, shall have the following duties and functions to perform and carry ou t, na m el y: — (t) con stru ctio n, expa nsion, improvemem an d maintena nce of school building s ; (it) supp ly of necessary equipme nts to elem entary schools ; (tit) arrangin g of play grou nds, mid -da y mea l drinking water and med ical inspection of student s ; 116 tiv) prepara tio n and maintena nce of a register of children of th e area in the form prescribe d ; (») decision, when necessary, as to who is the guard ian of a child or the hea d of a family ; (vi) arr angeme nt for stocking and marke ting and disposal of the products of school crafts ; (vii) arrangeme nt for periodic exh ibit ion of such produc ts in the region ; (viii ) supervisio n of a tte nd ance ; a nd (? 'x ) such oth er duties and functions, as may be entr usted to the m by the State Board for carrying out the purposes of this Act. Powers of 26. Th e District Council for an autonomous District dis tric t shall have the p owe r to establish, construct, Counc il or ma nag e elem entary schools in the auto nom ous dis tric t and , in pa rti cu lar, to prescribe the language an d the m anner in which elem entary edu cation shall be imparte d in the elem enta ry schools in the dist rict subje ct to such conditions as m ay be prescribe d wit h the consent of the District Council or Councils con cern ed. Con trol of 27. Th e Sta te Gov ern ment may on the advice Sta te Go- of the State Board or othe rwis e, rescin d, in pa rt or localautho1 1 ’ n w ^°^e a n y resolution , ord er or decision of a local rides. ” autho rity and m ay also p rohib it the doing of any act in pursuanc e of such resolution , order or decision when ever in the opin ion of the Sta te Gover nm ent , such reso lution,order, decision or ac t is in excess or abuse of the powers conferred up on the local au tho rity hy this Act ,or by any rules framed thereu nde r. CH AP TE R VI Fu nd o f Loc al A uth or ity and it s O pe ra tion • 0 Th e fun d of 28 . (1) As soon as the manag em ent o f Ele mentary the local Education is vested in a District Council or a local auth orit y, aut hority , the State G overnment shall constitut e a fund for the purpo ses of elem enta ry edu cation and shall place such amoun ts out of the said fund as may be necessary a t the disposal of the Dis trict Council, local aut hority , the Assistant Secretary of the State Board an d the Block D evelopmen t Officer conc erned, subject to such cond itions as m ay be prescribe d. (2) In .a n Autonomous Dis trict the said fund shall be depo sited in the fund of the D istrict Council bu t the fund shall be app lied for the purp oses enumerate d jn section 30. 117 (3) The Assista nt Secretar y, the Block Develop ment Officer and the Local Aut hor ity shall dep osit the amoun t receixed under sub-section (1) in a Gov ern ment Tre asury, Post Office Savings Bank or any othe r Bank app roved by the Governm ent and shall disburse the s ame in the ma nner pres cribed. Constitution of the fun d. 29. Th e following shall form pa rt of a nd be paid into the fund created under section 28 o f this Act, namely :— (t ) gran ts or allotments, as the case may be, ma de by the Sta te Board for the purp ose elem entary edu cation ; s: (ii) fees and fines realised und er the provisions of this Act ; * (iff ) all oth er sums of money th at may be realised by the autho rity concern ed under , and for the purpo ses of this Act ; ( z ’ y) any oth er sum of money th at may be received from the Sta te Governmen t for anv specific purp ose, conc erning elem en tary education or for the g ene ral pur pose of carryin g ou t the provisio ns of this Act. ofP,he'fur 'd? ^0- Sub ject to oth er provisio ns of this Act, the fund shall be app lied for th e following purp oses, namely :— (i) pay ment ol salaries of— ■ [a ) the e stab lishmen t ma intain ed by the local aut hority concerned on accou nt of elem en tary educ ation as may be pres cribed ; (7) teac hers and other employees of the elem entary schools ; (c) such salary or honoraria as may be pres cribed to t he Atte nda nce Authority ; » (ii) pay me nt of such retireme nt benefits, gratu i ties and con tributio ns to the Provident Fun ds in resp ect of the employees mentione d in clause (f) as may be prescribed ; (in) pay ment of any stipe nd or scho larship to stud ents in acc ordance wit h Rule s and Orders of the Edu cation De partm ent ; (iy) pay me nt of such sums of money as may be found necessary for constru ctio n, expa nsion, imp rov e ment and mai ntenan ce of school buildings and for provision of mid-day mea l, play gro und, furniture and equ ipm ent ; 118 (» ) pay ment of trave lling and oth er allowances to the officers and esta blishme nt of the local auth orities concern ed, as m ay be prescribed ; a nd (vi ) pay men t of any oth er sum whic h the local autho rity concerned is legally liable to pay or of any oth er liability as ma y be prescribed. Mo te.—Th e Assistant Secretaries of th e Sta te Board, the Block De velo pme nt Officers, the Dis trict Councils shall be tre ate d as local aut hor ities for the purp ose of this section. Acc ou nts 31. (1) Eac h local autho rity, District Cou ncil, the Assistant Secretaries and the Block Develop men t Officers to whom funds are allotted, shall maintain sep arate acco unts o f incom e and exp end itur e relating to elem enta ry edu cation within its respective ju ris diction, in the ma nner prescribed. (2) Th e accounts so mainta ined shall be open to inspection by such officer as may be dep ute d by the State Governmen t for the purpose. Audit 32. Th e accounts of th e local authorities , the Dis tric t Councils, the Assistant Secretaries, the Block Develop men t Officers, rel ati ng to elem entary edu ca tion shall be exam ined and aud ited at least once in eac h yea r by an aud itor app oin ted by the Sta te Gov ernmen t. CHAPTER VII PR OPE RT IE S OF TH E SC HO OL B OARD Cessation of 83. As soon as this Act comes into force th e School jurisdiction Board shall cease to have a n y jur isd ict ion w ith reg ard School t 0 the area con cern ed and the Local Au tho rity shall Boar s. take over the assets and liabilities of th e School Board subject to the provisio n of section 34, and subje ct to such conditio n as m ay fc e pre scrib ed. Absorption 34. As soon as th is Act comes into force, of proper ties, etc, (1) all money deposited in the hands of a nd held by the Sta te Advisory Board for Basic Education consti tuted under section 3 of the Assam Basic E ducation A ss am Ac t Act, 19 54 . on the date on which the Sta te Board XX VI of establish ed under this Act takes ch arge of office, shall I9 S 4- be tran sferred to an d be held by the S tate Board ; (2) all teac hers and oth er employees of Schools mainta ined by School Board shall be tak en over l> y the Sta te Board ; 119 Provided th at the total emoluments of these employees at the time they are take n over, shall be protected and their existing seniority shall be ma in tained ; ■ x? A. i (3) all oth er employees of the School Boards in clud ing the employees in the office of the School Boards shall be take n over and employed in the ma nner laid down by the Sta te Governm ent in this behalf ; (4) the office buildings of School Board s together with fur niture and equipm ents shall vest in the Sta te Gov ernm ent and be utilised for such purposes as may be in consonance with the provisions of this Act ; (5) all buildings and oth er properties inc lud ing the lan d owned by any school under the manag ement of a School Board, shall vest in and be held by the local aut hority concerned created under this Act; (6) all residual y prop ertie s held before the com men cement of this Act by any aut hority con stituted under the Assam Basic Edu cati on Act, 1954 a nd not transferred to a local aut hority or to the State Govern ment und er the provision of this Act shall vest in and be held by the State Board. Assam Act XX Vf of 1954- V- State Go- 35. Any disp ute arising out o f provision of section vernment’s 34 in respect of transfer an d ownership of any pro power to perty or in respect of any term s and conditio ns of settle dis - a n y appo int me nt of any employee or any ma tter per tainin g to the aforesaid provis ion, shall be referred by the aggrieved par ty to the State Governmen t whose decision in this behal f shall be final and bin din g on ail concern ed. CHAPTER VIII RE CO GNIT IO N OF ELEM EN TA RY SCHO OL S AND TH EIR AFFAIRS Classes of 36. Th e following classes of schools shall be schools to deem ed to be recognised as Elementary Schools und er be recognised t n a m e ly : — nsE lem ent a- ’ 1 (a ) all Governme nt Middle Ve rna cular Schools and Governme nt Seni or Basic Schools in cluding those that receive grant- in-aid from Gover nm ent ; (5) all Middle Verna cul ar Schools including Mid dle Madrassas under the ma nag ement of any oth er Authority or Authoritie s, th at have been recognised by the Sta te Gov ernmen t, to be responsible for ma in ten anc e of such schools; (c ) a' l schools und er the man agemen t of the School Boards ; 120 (d) all Prima ry Schools and Senior Basic Schools ma intain ed or aided dire ctly by Gover nment or by any oth er duly constituted au tho rity which is recog nised by the Sta te Gov ernm ent to be respon sible for im parting elem entary ed uc ation. Recognition ^7 - (1) The terms an d cond ition s of recognition , and gr an t-i n- an d of gra nt-in-a id to new Elementar y Schools, shall aid to new b e a s ]ajd down bv the Sta te Board from time to tim e: Schools, Provided th at the Sta te Gover nment may direct the Sta te Board to recognise any existing rule or set of rules ado pted in any pa rticular are a, by an au thority duly constitu ted to look afte r the ma nag ement of Elementar y Schools; and such direc tion from the said Governmen t shall be bind ing on the Sta te Board . (2) Subject to the prov ision of sub-section (1) the Ins pecto r of Schools of the area concern ed shall, on the re com mendation of the Deputy Insp ecto r of Schools conc erned, acc ord necessary recognition to such of the senior Basic Midd le Madtassa and Mid dle Ve rna cul ar Schools as fulfil the required conditions. In all oth er cases the Deputy Insp ecto r of Schools shall accord such recognition. A merit'0 of 38. tea ch ers ex ist ing or to be app oin ted in teachers° a n7 Elemen tary School recog nised un de r this Act, except in the case of the Autonomous Districts, shall be deemed to have been employed by the State Board. Appea l 39. An appeal aga inst the decision of a local autho rity or of th e Assistant Secretary, State Board, by a teache r or any oth er employee of an Elemen tary School or by oth er employees of these authorities shall lie t o the Secretary, Sta te Board . A second appe al aga inst the decision of th e Secretar y, Sta te Board, shall lie t o the Sta te Gov ernmen t whose decision in this be half shall be final. An app eal in each case shall be preferred within ninety days from the date of orde r app ealed against. PA RT II chapter I X COMPULSORY EDUCATION Exem ption 40(1) No fee shall be levied in respect of an y child from fees, for a ttending a recognised school whic h is under the ma nag ement of the Sta te Board or a Local Auth ority. (2) Where in respect of any child an attendan ce ord er has been passed under sub-section (3) of section 4y and the only school which he can att en d is a re- c < gnised school under p rivate man agemen t, the Local 121 Aut hority or the State Board shall take such steps as i t may think fit for the purpose of ensu ring tha t the educ ation which the child is to receive is free. Compulso ry 41 . Th e State Gov ernm ent may, by notification, edu cation, de cla r e that elem entary edu cation shall be com pul sory upt o a certain age to be prescribed, in any are a of the Sta te as specified un de r the notification. Duty of 42. In an area of compulsion the gu ard ian of gua rdian. e v e r y child, resident in such area , shall, sub ject to the provisions of section 43, be bound to cause the chil d to atte nd a recog nised Elem ent ary School in such area. Exemption 43. A guard ian ma y be exem pted from causing „ a child to att en d a recognised Elementary School I if — (1 ) the child is receiving education otherwise than in a recognised Elemen tary School to the satis faction of the Attendan ce Authority ; (it ) the child has already completed the stan« da rd o f elem entary edu cation prescribe d ; (H i) ther e is ro recognised Elementary School within the dista nce of one mile from the residence of the c hild , or, even if the re is such a school when such a school is no t reaso nably or conv enien tly accessible from such residence ; (iv ) the child is prevented from att endin g school by sickness, infirmity or any oth er mental or physical defect accepted as sufficient grou nd by the At ten dance Autho rity ; or (v) ther e is any other compelling circumstance which, in the opin ion of the Attendanc e Authority preve nts child frcm attendin g a recognised Elemen tary School. l . , . . . Part t i m e 44 . (]) If the Att end anc e Authority is satisfied instruction. t jj a t & c j ,; y d u e to econo mic or oth er circ umstan ces conn ected with the family to which the child be- A longs, is una ble to atte nd an approve d school in the ma nner require d by or under this Act, it may per mit the child to attend any institution im pa rti ng pa rt time eleme ntary edu cation , (2) A child receiving edu cation as provide d un de r sub-se ction (I) , shall be deemed to have fulfilled the re quirem ents of section 42 o f this Act. 45. Th e ma nner in which a list of children in an Pre paratio n area of compulsion shall be caused to be prep ared , of details t jje ma nner of notifying the gua rdia ns, the perio d co m " a n d d urati on of compulsory attendan ce of children in 1 Dpulsion. schools, shall be as pres cribed. 122 Duty of the 46. I n a n area of compulsion, it shall be the loc al au- du ty of every local aut hority to en list the co-operation. ar r a e g e t ^i e guardians in ensurin g the attendance oi for ai ten- children in schools. dance. At ten danc e 4 7 . (i) Th e Assistant Secretaries of the State Authority . g o a r c j m ay appoint on the advice of the Comm ittee app ointed by the Sta te Board under section 16, Atte nda nce Aut horities for the purpose of enforcing attendance in Schools. (2) Th e Att end anc e A uth. cities shall have such powers, responsibilities and duties as may be pre scribed. (3) An attend anc e ord er on the guard ian of a child shall be passed at such time an d in such ma n ner as may be prescribed. Restriction on employ- 1 1 1 snt of a child » d » ■ 48. h o guard ian o r person shall utilise the time or the “ ’ervices of a child in connection with employ ment of such a child, whe ther on rem une rati on or otherwise, in such a ma nner or at such time of the day as to inter fere wit h reg ula r att endance of the child in a school as r equ ired und er this Act. Penalty. 49. Any guard ian who contravenes the pro vi sions of section 42 o r any gua rdian or perso n who con trav enes the provisio ns of section 48 shall be punishable with fine no t exceeding two rupees, and in case of a con tinu ed con trav ention with an ad di tional fine not exceeding fifty naye paise for every day, during which such con trav ention continues : Prov ided th at the amoun t of fine payab le by any one perso n in respect of an y child in any one a ea r shall not exceed fifty rupees. Co urt s com- 50. '] he cou rts c ompetent to try offences un de r this pd en t to t s p,a ji f, e th e following :—try offence:. (e) in areas whe re the P nchayat’ Adalat has A s s a m A c t been constituted under section 86 of the Assam Pan - xXIV of cha yat Act, 1959—the Ada lai within whose jurisdic- lS5o. tion the offence is com mitt ed ; * 4 (6) in other areas—the Court of a Magistrate hav ing jurisdic tion . Cognizance 51 No Co urt shall take cognizance of an offence of offences. u n c,e r this Act except on com plaint cf an Atte nda nce Authority. Certain per- 52. Th e Atte ndance Authority shall be deemed to ( s 0?Sj. t0 h e be a public serv ant w ithin the meaning of section 21 ) Clh6 0. servan ts of the Indian Penal Code. 123 Re str ict ion 53. j\jo prose cution or othe r legal proce edings proceedings - ^ o r ^ Y ^ ^ g done in good fait h under this Act shall ’ lie w ith out the, previous sanction of th e State Gover n ment in this behalf. Ru les 54. (1) Th e Sta te Governm ent may, aft er previous publication in the Official Gazette, make rules for carryin g out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and wit hou t prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers such rules may provide for all or any of the following matter s, nam ely: — (i) layin g d own terms and con ditions of service of teachers of Elemen tary Schools inclu ding cond uct and discipline of teachers ; (ii) laying down powers and duties of the Secretary of the State Board required to be prescribed under section 13 ; (H i) manner of placing f unds by the Sta te Board at the disposal ol’ lccal auth orities and oth er au tho ri ties constituted un de r this A ct ; (iv) ma nner of making paym ents inclu ding scholarships by the Sta te Board : (& ) laying down the R „ie s of Business of the State Board 5 («) fixation of rates of -etireme nt benefits, gra tuity an d con trib utio n to P.u nden t Fund of the employees of the Sta te Board , (w 'i) laying down conditions of dra wal and fixation of rates of trav elling an d other allowances to mem bers and officers of the Sta te Board ; (viii) pay ment of oth er liability th at the St ttc Board is legally liable to p ay ; (£ *) ma nner of prepari ng the an nu al bud get estimates by the Sta te Fo ard ; (x) laying d own conditions u nder whic h ma nage ment of eleme nta ry schools shall vest in the local autho rity ; (xi) layi ng down the form of register of childr en to be maintained by a local autho rity ; (x »t ) layin g down conditions u nder winch adm ini- stia tion of elem entary edu cation has to be carried out in the Auton omous Districts 5 124 (xiii) laying down conditions for placing oi fund s with different auth orities constituted un de r this A ct; (xiv ) ma nner of disbursing of funds by a local aut hority or by any oth er autho rity con stituted under this A ct; (xv) terms an d conditions of service of the esta blishme nt of th e local auth orities ; (xvi ) pay men t of reti rement benefits, gratuity and con trib ution to the Provide nt Fun d in respect oi the employees o f the local auth orities constituted under this A c t; (xv ii) fixation of rates of trave lling and oth er allow ances to the officers and esta blis hment of the local authoiities : (xvii i) conditions of pa yment of othe r liabilities th at a local autho rity has to make ; (xix) ma nner of keeping accounts by a local author ity, a Dis trict Council, the Assista nt Secretaries and by the Block Developm ent Officers ; (xx) laying down conditio ns of taking over of assets of the School Boards by a local autho rity ; (xxi) fixation of st and ard upt o which no fees are la be c harged ; (xxii) fixing t he limits of th e age for a child ; (xxiii) manner of prep ara tion of details as require d under section 45 ; (xxiv) fixation of powers, duties and responsibilities of the Atten dan ce Aut horities ; (xxv ) fixing time and ma nner of serving attendan ce order on guardians ; and (xxv i) ma nner of advising the Assistant Secre tary under sub-section (4) of section 16. (3) All r ub s made und er this section shall be laid for not less th an fourteen days before the Assam Legislative Assembly as soon as possible, afte r they are made an d shall be subjec t to such modifications as the Legislative Assembly may make during the session in which they a re so laid or the session imm edia tely following. Re peal an d 55. (l) On and from the date on which this Act savings comes int o force the Assam Basic Edu cation Act, Ass am Ac t 1954 shall be repe aled. XXV I I9 5 4 * (2) Notwithstanding the repeal all authorities con stitu ted, appointme nts, rules, order s or notifica tions made u nd er the said Act shall be deemed to be constitu ted or mad e under this Act, an d con tinu e to function or to be in force until actions under the provisions of th is Act are taken. (3) Any of th e provisions of the Assam Municipal Act, 1956, w hich is re pugnant to any of the provisions x v on o-7 of this Act shall stand repe aled. J