Here’s why Jharkhand government is planning to shut 6,646 schools

Jharkhand education department has proposed to merge 6,466 middle schools having less than 100 students with upgraded high schools.

After merger of 4,600 primary schools, the Jharkhand government is planning to shut over 6,466 middle schools (classes 6 to 8), having less than 100 students.

These schools would be merged with upgraded high schools in phases, starting with the institutions, which have less than 50 students (HT File)

These schools would be merged with upgraded high schools in phases, starting with the institutions, which have less than 50 students, education department officials said on Thursday.

Initially, 3,732 middle schools having less than 50 students would be undertaken for merger. The process of merging has already been started.

“Merger is an effort to provide quality education to students in a better educational ambience. Jharkhand has around 411 such middle schools where number of students is less than 10. If these schools are merged with high schools, students would get better education,” said state education secretary AP Singh.

“As per the rules in the right to education (RTE), there should be at least three trained graduate teacher (TGT) in middle schools where number of students is less than 100. It means, we would have to afford additional ₹18 lakh on teachers’ salary even in the schools where number of students is less than 10, which is not logical,” he added.

The decision comes at a time when the opposition parties and critics have been criticising the state government for merging the primary schools. Several ruling party elected representatives have also been lobbying with the government against the move. There have been protests in several parts of the state as well, against merger of schools.

The officials, however, argue that, ideally, there should be one middle school and five to seven primary schools in a panchayat. As many as 6,466 middle schools have been identified in Jharkhand, which could be merged with high schools within a 5-km radius in a panchayat, Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) officials said.

The state government has decided to offer bicycles to the students, who would be shifted to other schools so that they do not face any trouble in commuting to the school.

Meanwhile, the JEPC officials said they have completed the merging exercise of 4,600 primary schools.

JEPC director Uma Shankar Singh said there were 39,600 schools in 2016-17 under education department in Jharkhand. “Of them, 18,000 schools had 60 or few students. These schools had an average of 1 or two teachers per school. Providing quality education was a major challenge. One teacher was handling four to five classes at a time. How could one expect a better education in these schools,” he said.

The council said four-step process including field inspection, cross-district verification, block and district consultation and final notification to merge the schools.

Singh said 98% students from the 4,600 primary schools have been shifted and 96% students have expressed satisfaction with the consolidation. “We faced difficulty to shift 150 students due to some technical reasons. Now, the issue is resolved and 120 students were shifted,” he said.

The reorganisation of primary schools benefited seven lakh students with better teachers’ availability and reduced the requirements of teachers by 4,500. Besides, the process saved government’s ₹400 crore through reduced teachers and infrastructure requirements, JEPC officials said.

Education Dept ropes in IIM Ranchi for merged school evaluation

State education secretary AP Singh said the department has roped in Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi, for evaluation of the merged schools. The IIM, Ranchi would see if the reorganization process brought any difference in improving the education of students, who were shifted in merging process.

He said IIM Bangalore has also expressed willingness for a study of the reorganization process and its benefit.