The Tripura Pradesh Congress has launched a sharp attack on both the Central and State governments, blaming them for the worsening education crisis in the state.

The party accused the BJP-led administrations of deliberate negligence, prolonged vacancy of teaching positions, and bureaucratic indifference that has crippled government schools across Tripura.

In a statement the Tripura Congress on Monday, alleged that the Centre’s rigid, industry-oriented National Education Policy (NEP) has accelerated the privatization and commercialization of education. It further claimed that the state government’s “Tughlaq-like” decisions and anti-education policies over the past seven and a half years have pushed the public education system to the brink of collapse.

The party highlighted that thousands of teaching posts remain vacant, affecting classroom learning in nearly every school.

“The situation is particularly alarming in the Autonomous District Council (ADC) areas, where over 300 schools are reportedly functioning with just one teacher. Several schools are also said to lack graduate teachers for Classes 9 and 10, forcing students to take to the streets in protest and blockade roads to demand teachers”, said the PCC.

Quoting official data, the Congress said students in government schools are failing to achieve even basic learning levels. It held the previous Education Minister responsible for widespread mismanagement and corruption, which continues to plague the department. As a result, an increasing number of underprivileged families are withdrawing children from government schools and turning to private institutions, while unemployed youths face a bleak future due to recruitment delays.

“A key flashpoint remains the indefinite delay in the publication of results of the STGT (Selection Test for Graduate Teachers) held in 2022. The recruitment of 350 graduate teachers has reportedly been stalled due to a legal challenge over flawed implementation of the reservation policy. While the High Court directed the Education Department to revise the reservation norms and proceed with appointments, the department’s decision to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court has frozen the process. Despite repeated appeals by candidates to the government and Chief Minister Manik Saha—who also holds the Education portfolio—no resolution has been offered. Many aspirants have already crossed the age limit for eligibility, while others are at risk of doing so”, said Congress.

The Congress also dismissed the government’s recent announcement of 1,600 new teacher recruitments as an attempt to deflect public attention from the core issues. It accused the administration of routinely cancelling job notifications, reissuing advertisements, and failing to maintain transparency in exams and reservation policies.