The Assam Elementary Education Act, 1962

UC11CULS . ASSAM ACT No.XXX OF 1962 THE ASSAM ELEM EN TA RY ED UC AT IO N ACT , 1962 (As pas sed by the Assembly ) R ec ei ved t he ass en t o f th e G ov er no r on th e 3rd O ctob er 1962 [Pub lished in the Assam Gazette, Ex tra ordin ary , da ted the 5th Oc tob er 1962J io w oke reamblc An Act provision for the management and control oj elementary education to provide for free and compulsory elemenlaiy education in Assam Whereas it is expedien t to make be tte r provision for the developmen t, expansion, manag ement and con trol of elem entary educat ion ; Ard whereas it is fur the r expedie nt th at free and compulsory elem entary education should be introduced i» the S tat e in gradual stages ; It is hereby enacted in the T hir tee nth Yea r of the Re pu bl ic of India as follows PA RT I CH AP TE R Pre 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 r y E ducat ion A,ct, 1962. fnen” e n C e (2 ) extends to the whole of Assam except the Autonomous Di str ict s: 107 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 provis ions of this Act to all or any of the Au to­ nomous Dis trict 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 under section 41 ; (A) “At tendan ce Au tho rity” means any person app oin ted to be an att endance au thor ity under section 47 ; (c) “ Auto nom ous Distr ict” means the autonomou s dist ricts u nde r the S ixth Schedule to the Con stitutio n of Ind ia ; (</) “ Basic Train ing Cen tre” means an In st itu ­ tion in which teachers are tra ine d in Basic Edu cat ion ; (e) “ Block Development Officer” means the Execu­ tive Officer app oin ted by the Government to be in-charg e of a C omm unity Dev elopmen t Block ; (_/) “ Ch ild ” means a person of either sex, o f such age, between six and fourteen years, or as the Sta te Governmen t may , from time to time , prescribe ; (g) “D istr ict 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 itu tion of In di a ; (A) “E lem entary Ed ucati on” means edu cat ion upto such class or sta ndard , not beyo nd the eighth class or sta nd ard, as may be prescribed ; (i) “ Elementar y Sch ool” means a school where elem enta ry edu cat ion is im parte d ; (j ) “ Gua rd ian” means the person to whom the duty of taking care of, brin ging up or the custody of. the child has been en tru ste d by law or custom, or by any lawful au tho rity, or who has in fac t 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 dec ide ; IOS Qf/ “Local Au tho rity ” means a Mun icipal Board as defined in the Assam Municipal Act, 1956, a Tow n Assam Act Com mit tee as establ ished under section 335 of 'the XV of said Act, and a Gaon Pa nchayat estab lished unde r 19 57‘ the Assam Panchayat Act, 1959: Assam Ac t XX IV of Provided that the Sta te Board shall be deemed 1959. as Loca l Authority for the areas not covered by Municipali ty, Tow n Com mitt ee, Gaon Pan chayat and ' Dist rict Council ; (7) “Ma nageme nt” means and includes such powers and funct ions in resp ect of the Local Aut hor itie s arid of Dis trict Counc ils as have bee n laid down in this Ac t; (m) “N otif ica tion ” means a notif icatio n published in the Official Gazet te ; (») “Pre scr ibed” means prescribed by rules made , tinde r this Act ; (0) ’"Recognised School” means a school recog­ nised under this Act ; (/) “School Board ” means a Regiona l Boa rd for basic education constituted under section 76 of Assam Ac ' the Assam Basic Edu cati on Act, 1954 • XXVI of 1954. (q) “State Boa rd” means the Sta te Board for km en ta ry Edu cat ion constituted under section 3, C H A PTER n S ta te B o ard , i t s 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 menta ry Edu cat ion to advise Governme nt for the develop men t, expansion, ma nage­ ment and cont rol of elementa ry edu cat ion in the Sta te. (2) The Sta te Board shal l be a body 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 cat ion . I t shall be com petent to acquire and to hold movable and immovab le pro per­ ty, . to transfer any such proper ty so held by it, and io do all othei acts necessary for car rying ou t its duties and funct ions under this Act and the riiles made thereu nder. 109 Cooiititution 4. (l) The Sta te Board shal l be const itu ted with Heard S ta tC the following mem bers :— .(i) The Minis ter of Educa tion , by vir tue of his office, who shal l be the Ch air ma n of t he Boa rd. (ii) The Deputy Min ister of Educa tion, by vir tue of his office who sha ll be the Vice- Ch airma n of the Board. (in) The Directo r of Public Ins truction by virtue of his office. (in ) The Jo in t Direc tor o f Pub lic Instruction or the Officer in-c harg e of Elementary Educa tion by wha t­ ever nam e he may be des ignated, by vir tue of his office, wh o shal l be the Secre tary of the Board. (r) Th e Assis tant Directo r of Publi c Instr uc tio n in-charge of Wom en’s Education. (vi) On e Inspec tor of Schools, to be nom inated by the State G overnment. (zm) One Prin cipal of a Basic Tr ain ing Cen tre to be nom inated by the State G overnment. (viii) Five representat ives to be elected by the Assam Legislativ e Assembly from amongst its members. (fx) One repr esenta tive lrom each of the Dis trict Councils of the Autonomous Distric ts. (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 hkuma Par ishads to be nom inated by the State Governm ent. (xii) Three members to be nomin ated by the State Governmen t w ho will be educationists 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 ernment to serve such oth er interest s as, in the opinion of the Government , shou ld specia lly 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 Middle Verna cul ar Schools to be nomi- aatsd by the State Governm ent. 110 (2) No person shall be en titl ed to continue as a mem ber under clause (iwt) of sub-section (1) if he ceases to be a member of the Legis lative 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 Sta te 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 sti tuted, 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, member of every member of the Sta te Board shall hold office for a term of three years from the da te on which the notificat ion under section 5 has been publi shed . On the expiry of such term , a member shall be eligible for re- appo intme nt or re-e lecti on. » (2) A casual vacancy occ urr ing in the Sta te Board at any time d ur ing the term of three years shall be filled for the r emain ing por tion of such term in the oame m ann er in which the mem bers hip , that falls vac ant , was originally filled u p. (3) The Sta te Board shall be com petent to exercise all its powers at any tim e notwiths tandin g the fact th at any vacancy or vacancies in its membersh ip may rem ain unfilled for the time being. (4) Notwi thst and ing the expiry of three yea rs specified in sub-section (! ), every member of the Sta te Board shall con tinue to hold office unt il the first meeting o f the next Sta te Board at which a quoru m is present . Resignation 7. Any memb er of the State Board may resign his of member- mem bership at any time by giving noti ce thereof in ship. wri ting , to the Chairm an who shal l forward the same to the Government . 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 Sta te Governme nt tnay, of its own motion membersi o r o n t jl e recommenda tion of the Sta te Board, remove any member of the Sta te Board if the Sta te Governm ent is satisfied th at he has been gui lty of misconduct in the discharge of his duties as such member or of any conduc t involving mora l turpit ude or has becom e incapa ble of performing such duties by reason o f any phys ical 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 made by a resolu tion passed in a meeting of the S tate Board in which at least two- thirds of the to tal numb er of members were pr es en t: Provided fur the r that no member shall be so removed by the Sta te Governmen t of its own motion, nor shall any reso lutio 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 dat ion 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 grants for car ryin g out the purposes of this Act , to the local auth orit ies ; (&) to lay down procedure 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 prescribed ; (c) to lay down cond ition s for recogn ition, ex­ pansion and amalg amation of elem entary schools, and o pen ing of elem entary schools ; and (d) to do any othe r ac t which the State Board considers necessary for car rying ou t the purposes of this Act fully and effectively. Responsjbi- n . No twithstanding 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 responsibility of pro per a dminis trat ion , super­ vision and inspection of elem enta ry education and of arrang ement of pro per tra ini ng of teachers shall lie w ith the Governm ent. Th e G ove rnm ent shall also d ete rmine the curriculum and du ratio n, sta ndard and syllabus of the course of ins tructio n to be imparted in an elemen­ tary schoo l. 112 Cha irm an to 12. Th e Ch air ma n ,und in his absence the V ic e- , ; pre side ove r Ch airma n shall preside over the meet ings of the Sta te mee tings. Board , and in the absen ce of both the mem bers pre­ sent shal l elect one of them to pres ide 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 o f t he Principal Adminis trat ive Officer of the Boa rd and, ec ic a iy . s Ball exercise such powers an d perform such duti es 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 section 26, ta n t Secre- the Deputy Inspecto rs of Schools, by vir tue of office, tar ies , th ei r sBall be the Assistan t Secre taries of the Sta te Board, pow ers and (2) Th e Headq uar ters and j uri sdict ion of the Assis­ ta nt Secretar ies shall be the same as those of the Deputy Inspecto rs. (3) The Assi stant Sec reta ry shall exercise powers an d perfo rm duties as follows in hie own ju risd ic tio 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 t each ers in recognised schools cn the advice of a Comm ittee constitu ted by the Sta te Board unde 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 be admiss ible ; (w) to make pay ment of con ting ent expend iture to schools and salaries to the teac hers an d othe r employees of the Sta te Board , if any , in the area concerned by himself or thr ough the Block Develop­ men t Officer or through such oth er officer as may he specified by the Governme nt for this p urp ose ; (z>) to make pay ments to the local authoriti es for pro per ma intenance of schools in the ma nner prescribed ; .til; ’.I (w) to make such o the r paymen ts inclu ding scholar­ ships as may be prescr ibed ; (w'z) to ma intain pro per accounts of the fund, placed at his disposal ; (viii) to car ry out such other duties as may be ent rusted to him by the Secretary, Sta te Board for the purpose o f car rying out the provis ions of the Act. 113 Rules of 15. The State Board shall perfo rm its duties and uiness . car ry out its functions in a ccordance with such rules ot business as ma y be prescribed. CHAPTER III AD VISO RY CO MMIT TE E FO R STA TE BOA RD Advisory 16 (1) Th e Sta te Board shall con stitute an Committee Advisory Com mit tee for the purpose of app oin ting Bo ard ^ teachers under section 14(3) (iii) and salaried att en ­ dan ce auth orit ies under section 47 consisting of thre e members in each De pu ty Inspec tor’s Circle o f the Sta te. (2) Assistant Secretar ies of the Sta te Board shall be the mem bers of the Advisory Comm ittees in add itio n to thre e members of the Com mitt ee under sub-section (1) above . (3) The tenure of the Com mitt ee shall be thre e years . (4) The Com mit tee shal l advise the Assis tant Secre taries o f the Sta te Board in t he manner p rescr ibed. CHAPTER IV ELEM EN TA RY ED UC AT IO N FU ND Elementary I7 . (1) A fund hereinafter 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 shal l form pa rt of and be paid into the Ele mentary Education Fund:— (t) All sums of money that may be in the State Basic Education Fund, cons tituted 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 made by the Sta te Government to the Sta te Board for the purpose of elem entary education ; ( t i t ) all income derived from any end owment or pro per ty owned or managed by the Sta te Board for the purposes of this Act ; and (fo) all othe r sums of money th at may b e received by, th e Sta te Board under. or for the purposes of this Act. Application 18. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the oi the Fun . Elem entary Edu cat ion Fund shall be app lied for: — (i) payment of gran ts to the local authoriti es and to the Dis trict Councils, as the case may be, for the purp ose of elem enta ry education ; (n) pay me nt of gran ts to a school au thor ity or other auth orit ies, if any , on specific projects and schemes on elementa ry edu cat ion ; Explanation.—‘‘School Author ity’ means the Ma nag ing Committee or the Head of the Ins titu tion or the pro pri eto r, as the case m ay be ; (iii) pay ment of salaries of the officers o f th e St ate Boa rd, and its office expenses ; (ivt pay ment of such ret irement benefits, gra tui ties and con trib utions to the Provident Funds in respect of the officers of the Sta te Board as may be prescribed ; (v) paymen t of such trav elling an d other allowances to mem bers and officers of the Sta te Board as may be prescribe d; and (»i) pay ment of any oth er sums which the Sta te Board is legally liable to pay , or of any othe r liabili ty as may be prescribed. Note,—The Assistant Secretaries of the State Board shall be deem ed to be local author itie s under, and for the purp ose of this section. Administ ra- 19 Th e fund shall be adm inis tered by the t/o n of th e Secretary of the State Board and the accoun ts shall fund. be Ope r a te d by him. Re ce ipt an d 20. (1) All moneys received for this purpose 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 Treasury or in a Bank approved by the Sta te Governm ent. (2) No exp end iture 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 Government. Bu dget. 21 . (1 ) On receipt of the estimates from the Assistant Secretaries and the Dis trict Councils, or otherwise, the Sta te Board shall pre par e the annu al budget estimates before the comm encement of the next finan cial year at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed# 115 (2) Such budget estim ates shall include the probable receip ts and expe nditure of the year concern ­ ed on accoun t of Elemen tary Education. (3) Th e bud get estimates as app roved by the Sta te Governm ent shall be treate d as the final budget of the State Board. (4) Th e Sta te Board shall be com petent to make re-app rop ria tion from one head to anoth er with in the app roved budget Ac c ounts 22. The Sta te Board shall keep accounts of all and audits. its r e c e jpts and expenditure and such accounts sha ll be aud ited by an au dit or appointed by the Sta te Governm ent. CHAPTER V L O C A L A U T H O R IT IE S P O W E R O F M A N A ­ GE ME NT OF ELEM EN TA RY SCHO OL S Manage- 23. As soon as this Act comes into force, the through 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 the re is no Block Development of l95g Officer, such oth er officers as may be specified by the Gov ernment in this behalf, with the help of such officers o f the Ed ucation De partm ent, as may be attach ed to him, shall ac t as a Co-ord ina ting agency betw een the Gao n Pan cha yat s and the Sta te 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 section 11 in pa r­ ticula 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 mely: — (t) con stru ctio n, expansion, improvemem and maintena nce of school building s ; (it) supp ly of necessary equipments to elem enta ry schools ; (tit) arrangin g of play grou nds, mid -day 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 the area in the form prescribed ; (») 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 produc ts of school crafts ; (vii) arrangeme nt for periodic exh ibit ion of such produc ts in the region ; (viii) supervisio n of a tte ndance ; a nd (?'x) such oth er duties and func tions, as may be entr usted to them by the State Board for car rying out the purposes of this Act. Powers of 26. Th e Dis trict Council for an autonomous Dis tric t dis tric t shall have the powe r to establish, construct, Counc il or manag e elem entary schools in the autonom ous dis tric t and , in pa rti cu lar, to prescribe the l anguage an d the m anner in which elem enta ry edu cat ion shall be imparte d in the elem enta ry schools in the dist rict subje ct to such condi tions as m ay be prescribed with the consent of the Distr ict Council or Counc ils con­ cerned. Con trol of 27. The Sta te Gov ernment may on the advice Sta te Go- of the Sta te Board or othe rwis e, rescind, in pa rt or localautho11 ’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 decis ion when­ ever in the opin ion of the Sta te Gover nment , such reso lution,order, decision or ac t is in excess or abuse of the powers confe rred up on the local au tho rity hy this Act ,or by any rules framed thereunde r. CH AP TE R VI Fu nd o f Loc al A uth or ity and i t s O pe ra tion •0 Th e fun d of 28 . (1) As soon as the manag ement o f Ele mentary the local Educa tion is vested in a Distr ict Council or a local auth ority, authority , the Sta te G overnment shall cons titut e a fund for the purposes of elem enta ry education and shall place such amoun ts out of the said fund as may be necessary a t the disposal of the Dis tric t Council, local authority , the Assistan t Secreta ry of the State Board an d the Block D eve lopmen t Officer concerned, subject to such cond itions as m ay be prescribed. (2) In .an Autonomous Dis trict the said fund shall be deposited in the fund of the D ist ric t Council bu t the fund shall be app lied for the purposes enumerate d jn section 30. 117 (3) The Assistant Secretary, the Block Develop­ ment Officer and the Local Author ity shall dep osi t the amoun t receixed under sub-section (1) in a Govern­ ment Tre asury, Post Office Savings Bank or any othe r Bank app roved by the Governm ent and shall disburse the same in the ma nner prescribed. Constitution of the fun d. 29. Th e following shal l form pa rt of a nd be paid into the fund created under sect ion 28 o f this Act, namely :— (t ) gran ts or allo tments, as the case may be, ma de by the Sta te Board for the purp ose elementa ry education ; s: (ii) fees and fines realised under 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 other sum of money th at may be received from the Sta te Governmen t for anv specific purp ose, concerning elem en­ tary education or for the gene ral purpose of car rying ou t the provisions of this Act. ofP,he'fur'd? ^0- Sub ject to oth er provisions of th is Act, the fund shall be app lied for th e following purposes , namely :— (i ) pay ment ol salaries of—■ [a) the e stab lishmen t ma intain ed by the local authority concerned on accou nt of elem en­ tary education as may be prescribed ; (7) teac hers and other employees of the elem entary schools ; (c) such salary or honorar ia as may be pres ­ cribed to t he Atte nda nce Authority ; » (ii) pay ment of such ret irement 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 stipend or scho larship to students in accordance with Rules and Orders of the Education De partm ent ; (iy ) pay ment of such sums of money as may be found necessary for constru ctio n, expansion, imp rove­ ment and maintenan ce of school buildings and for provis ion of mid-day mea l, play gro und, furniture and equ ipm ent ; 118 (») pay ment of t rave lling and other allowances to the officers and establishment of the local auth ori ties concern ed, as may be presc ribed ; a nd (vi) paymen t of any oth er sum which the local autho rity concerned is lega lly liab le to pay or of any oth er liab ility as may be presc ribed . Mote.—Th e Assistant Secretaries of th e Sta te Board , the Block Development Officers, the Dis tric t Councils shall be tre ate d as local author itie s for the purp ose of this section. Accounts 31. (1) Each local autho rity, District Council , the Assistant Secretaries and the Block Developmen t Officers to whom funds are allott ed , shal l maintain sep ara te acco unts o f income and exp end itur e relating to elem enta ry educat ion with in its respective ju ris­ dict ion, in the ma nner prescribed. (2) Th e accounts so mainta ined shal l 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 author ities , the Dis­ tric t Councils, the Assistant Secretaries, the Block Developmen t Officers, rel ati ng to elem entary edu ca­ tion shall be exam ined and aud ited at least once in each 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 the School jurisd iction Board shal l cease to have an y jur isd ict ion w ith regard School t 0 the area concern ed and the Local Au tho rity shall Boar s. take over the assets and liabi litie s of th e School Board subject to the provision of section 34, and subje ct to such conditio n as m ay fce 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 and held by the Sta te Advisory Board for Basic Education consti­ tu ted under section 3 of the Assam Basic E ducat ion Assam Act Act , 1954. on the da te on which the Sta te Board XX VI of establish ed under this Act takes ch arge of office, sha ll I9 S 4- be tran sfer red to an d be held by the S tate Board ; (2) all teachers and oth er employees of Schools mainta ined by School Board shall be tak en over l>y the Sta te Board ; 119 Provided that the total emoluments of these employees at the t ime 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 manner laid down by the Sta te Governm ent in this behalf ; (4) the office build ings of School Boards together with furniture and equipments shall vest in the Sta te Governm ent and be utilised for such purposes as may be in consonance with the provisions of this Act ; (5) all buildings and other propert ies inc lud ing the lan d owned by any school under the management of a School Board, shall vest in and be held by the local authority concerned created under this Act; (6) all residual y prop ertie s held before the com men­ cement of this Act by any authority constituted under the Assam Basic Edu cati on Act, 1954 a nd not transferred to a local authority or to the Sta te 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 dispute arising out o f provision of sect ion vernment’s 34 in respect of transfer and 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 tte r 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 concerned. CHAPTER VIII RE CO GNIT IO N OF ELEM EN TA RY SCHO OLS AND THEIR AFFAIRS Classes of 36. The following classes of schools shall be schools to deem ed to be recognised as Elementary Schools under 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 Senior Basic Schools in cluding those that receive grant- in-aid from Gover nment ; (5) all Middle Verna cul ar Schools including Mid­ dle Madrassas under the manag ement of any oth er Authori ty or Authoritie s, th at have been recognised by the Sta te Gov ernmen t, to be responsible for ma in­ tenanc e of such schools; (c) a' l schools und er the managemen t of the School Boards ; 120 (d) all Primary Schools and Senior Basic Schools ma intain ed or aided directly by Government or by any oth er duly constituted au tho rity which is recog­ nised by the Sta te Governm ent to be responsible for imparting elem enta ry ed uc at ion. Recogni tion ^7 - (1) The terms and 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 ]a jd down bv the Sta te Board from time to tim e: Schools, Provided that the Sta te Government may direct the Sta te Board to recognise any exis ting rule or set of rules ado pted in any pa rti cu lar are a, by an au ­ thority duly constitu ted to look afte r the manag 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-sec tion (1) the Inspecto r of Schools of the area concerned shall, on the recom menda tion of the Deputy Inspecto r of Schools concerned, accord necessary recognition to such of the senior Basic Midd le Madtassa and Mid dle Verna cul ar Schools as fulfil the required conditions. In all other cases the Deputy Insp ecto r of Schools shall accord such recognition. A merit'0 of 38. tea chers ex ist ing or to be app oin ted in teachers° a n 7 Elemen tary School recognised unde r this Act, except in the case of the Autonomous Distr icts, shall be deemed to have been employed by the State Board . Appea l 39. An appeal aga ins t the decis ion of a local autho rity or of the 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 author ities shall lie t o the Secretary, Sta te Board . A second appe al aga inst the decision of the Secretary, Sta te Board, shall lie t o the Sta te Governmen t whose decision in this beha lf shall be final. An app eal in each case shall be preferred within ninety days from the da te of orde r app ealed aga inst . PA RT II chapter IX COMPULSORY EDUCATION Exemption 40(1) No fee shall be levied in respect of an y child from fees, for a ttending a recognised school which is under the manag 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 end is a re- c< gnised school under p rivate man agemen t, the Local 121 Authori ty or the Sta te 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 Governm ent may, by notification, educat ion, de c la r e that elem enta ry education shall be com pul ­ sory upto a cer tain age to be prescribed, in any are a of the Sta te as specified unde r the notification. Duty of 42. In an area of compulsion the gu ard ian of gua rdian. e v e r y child, res ident in such area , shall, sub jec t to the provisions o f section 43, be bound to cause the chil d to atte nd a recognised Elementary School in such area. Exemption 43. A guard ian may be exem pted from causing „ a child to att end a recogn ised Elementary School I if — (1) the child is receiv ing education otherwise than in a recognised Elemen tary School to the satis­ fact ion of the Attendan ce Authority ; (it ) the child has already completed the stan« da rd o f elem enta ry educat ion prescribed ; (Hi) ther e is ro recognised Elementary School within the distance of one mile from the residence of the child , 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 menta l or physica l 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 Attendance Authority preve nts child frcm att endin g a recogn ised Elemen ­ tary School. l . , . . . Part t i m e 44 . ( ]) If the Att end anc e Authority is satisfied instruc tion. t j j a t & c j , ; y d u e to economic or oth er circ umstan ces connected with the family to which the child be- A longs, is una ble to atte nd an approved school in the manner require d by or under this Act, it may permi t the child to attend any inst itution im pa rti ng pa rt time eleme ntary edu cat ion , (2) A child receiving education as provided un ­ de r sub-section (I) , shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requi rem ents of section 42 o f this Act. 45. Th e ma nner in which a list of children in an Preparatio n area of compulsion shall be caused to be prepared , of details t jje ma nner of noti fying the gua rdia ns, the period com" a n d d urati on of compulsory attendan ce of children in 1Dpulsion. schools, shall be as prescribed. 122 Duty of the 46. I n a n area of compuls ion, it shall be the local au- du ty of every local authority to en list the co-operation. ar r a e g e t î e guard ians in ensuring the att endance oi fo r ai ten- children in schools. dance . At ten danc e 47 . (i ) Th e Assistan t Secretaries of the Sta te Authority . g o a r c j m ay appoint on the advice of the Comm ittee app oin ted by the Sta te Board under section 16, Atte nda nce Author ities for the purpose of enforcing att endance in Schools. (2) The Att end anc e A uth. cities shall have such powers, responsibilit ies and duti es as may be pre scr ibed. (3) An attend anc e ord er on the guard ian of a child shall be passed at such time an d in such man­ ner as may be prescribed. Rest riction on employ- 111 snt of a child » d »■ 48. h o guard ian o r person shall uti lise the time or the “’ervices of a child in connection with employ­ ment of such a child, whe ther on remune ration or otherwise , in such a ma nner or at such time of the day as to inter fere with regula r att endance of the child in a school as r equ ired und er this Act. Penalty. 49. Any guard ian who cont ravenes the pro vi­ sions of section 42 o r any gua rdian or person who con travenes the provisions of section 48 shall be punishable with fine no t exceeding two rupees , and in case of a con tinu ed con trav ent ion with an ad di ­ tional fine not exceeding fifty naye paise for every day , during which such con trav ent ion cont inues : Prov ided th at the amoun t of fine payab le by any one person in respect of any 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’ Adala t has A s s a m A c t been cons tituted under section 86 of the Assam Pan - xXIV of cha yat Act , 1959—the Ada lai with in whose jur isd ic- lS5o. tion the offence is com mitt ed ; * 4 (6) in other areas—the Court of a Magistra te hav ing juri sdic tion . Cognizance 51 No Court shall take cogn izance of an offence of offences. u n c ,e r this Act except on com plaint cf an Atte nda nce Authori ty. Certa in per- 52. Th e Attendance Authority shall be deemed to ( s 0 ?Sj. t0 h e be a pub lic serv ant w ithin the meaning of section 21 )Clh60. servants of the Indian Penal Code. 123 Re str ict ion 53. j\jo prose cution or othe r legal proce edings proceedings - ô r ^ Y ^ ^ g done in good faith under this Act shall ’ lie w ithout the, previous sanc tion of the Sta te Govern­ ment in this behalf. Ru les 54. (1) The Sta te Governm ent may, aft er previous publicat ion in the Official Gazet te, make rules for car rying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In parti cu lar and withou t prejudice to the general ity of the foregoing powers such rules may provide for all or any of the following matter s, nam ely : — (i) layin g down terms and conditions of service of teachers of Elemen tary Schools inclu ding cond uct and discip line of teachers ; (ii) laying down powers and duties of the Secreta ry of the S tate Board required to be prescribed under section 13 ; (Hi) manner of placing f unds by the Sta te Board a t the disposal ol’ lccal auth ori ties and oth er au tho ri­ ties const ituted 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 -et ireme nt benefits, gra tui ty and con trib utio n to P .u nden t Fund of the employees of the Sta te Board , (w'i) laying down conditions of drawal 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 liab ility that the St ttc Board is legally liable to p ay ; (£*) ma nner of preparing the annual budget estimates by the Sta te Foard ; (x) laying down condit ions u nder which ma nage­ ment of elementa ry schools shal l vest in the local au tho rity ; (xi) layi ng down the form of regis ter of chi ldren to be mainta ined by a local autho rity ; (x»t) layin g down conditions u nder winch adm ini - stia tion of elem enta ry edu cat ion has to be carr ied out in the Autonomous Distric ts 5 124 (xiii) laying down conditions for placing oi fund s with different auth orit ies cons tituted unde r this A c t; (xiv) ma nner of di sbursing of funds by a local authority or by any other autho rity con stituted under this A c t; (xv) terms an d conditions of service of the establishme nt of the local auth ori ties ; (xvi) paymen t of reti rement benefits, gra tui ty and con trib ution to the Provide nt Fun d in respect oi the employees o f the local auth orit ies cons tituted under this A c t; (xvii) fixation of rates of trave lling and oth er allow­ ances to the officers and esta blishment of the local authoi ities : (xviii) conditions of payment of o the r l iabil ities that a local au tho rity has to make ; (xix) ma nner of keeping accounts by a local author ity, a Dis trict Council, the Assistant Secretar ies and by the Block Development 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 upto which no fees are la be charged ; (xxii) fixing the 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, duti es and responsib ilities of the At tendan ce Author ities ; (xxv) fixing time and ma nner of serving attendan ce order on guard ians ; and (xxvi) ma nner of advising the Assistan t Secre tary under sub-section (4) of section 16. (3) All r ub s made under this section shall be laid for not less th an fourteen days before the Assam Legisla tive Assembly as soon as possible, afte r they are made an d shall be subjec t to such modif ications as the Legis lative 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 da te on which this Act savings comes into force the Assam Basic Education Act, Assam Act 1954 sha ll be repealed . XXVII954* (2) Notwithstand ing the repeal all author ities constitu ted , appoin tme nts , rules, order s or notifica­ tions made und er the said Act shall be deemed to be constitu ted or mad e under this Act, and con tinu e to func tion or to be in force un til actions under the provisions of th is Act are taken. (3) Any of the 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 repealed . J