Tezpur: A school managed by Tezpur diocese in Assam has been facing trouble over alleged move to close its Assamese section.

Local student bodies have locked the entrance gate of Don Bosco School near Chitralekha Udyan in Tezpur alleging that the authorities want to shut the Assamese section and convert it into an English-medium school.

The Salesians of Don Bosco started the school 78 years ago, but handed it over to the diocese several years ago. The school, however, carries the name of Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian congregation.

The Tezpur units of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and another body, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP, Young student council of Assam people) locked the school gates on January 5 in protest against the non-admission of students in the Assamese medium section.

Student delegates and representatives of the local unit of the Asam Sahitya Sabha (Assam literary council) approached the school authorities to discuss the issue of the imminent closure of the Assamese section and requested them to retain the section as they had promised earlier.

However, the school authorities could not assure the group. So, the student bodies locked the school gate, which was later opened by the police, reports the Assam Tribune.

Arup Talukdar, secretary, Tezpur AASU unit, said AASU, AYJCP, Asam Sahitya Sabha and other organizations discussed the matter at the Sahitya Sabha Bhawan on Wednesday. He said the organizations submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Sonitpur in this regard.

Talukdar stated that the organizations would wait for the district administration to take action. Otherwise they would intensify the stir against the school authorities.

The school was established in 1938 as an Assamese-medium school and provided free education to poor students from classes sixth to eigthty. Later, the English medium section was introduced, which was shifted to a new campus.

The move to close the Assamese section was started two years ago when first grade in the Assamese medium was terminated. In 2015, the school closed grades two and three.

At that time, a delegation of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, headed by the then general secretary, Paramananda Rajbongshi, and members of AASU and other organizations, met the Don Bosco authorities.

Sources at the Asam Sahitya Sabha said that the school authorities had then agreed to reopen the Assamese section.