Government initiative to reopen schools closed for last 10 years, ET Education

Bhubaneswar: The state government is planning to reopen schools that were closed or merged in the last few years due to low enrolment and lack of proper infrastructure. On Tuesday, Minister for Schools and Mass Education Nityananda Gond asked his department to find out how many such schools can be reopened. Over 7,400 schools have been merged with nearby schools in the last 10 years. “In several places, mostly in tribal areas, there is a need and there are students but the schools have been closed. In some districts, schools have been closed without proper assessment and based on false reports of enrolment and attendance of children. I have asked our departmental secretary to look into why these schools were closed and how many of them can be reopened,” Gond said. The minister said that in several places, children are struggling to travel long distances to reach schools. “We will look into the local situation, distance and demand. We will have to find out if the schools are reopened, how it will benefit the children in the area. “Once a detailed report is prepared, our government will take steps to reopen schools,” Gond assured.

When the previous BJD government decided to close schools, the BJP party strongly opposed the decision and raised the issue in the assembly several times.

In 2018, a study conducted by the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on the impact of school closures on children found that the decision led to many children dropping out of school in districts across the state. There were complaints that children were not attending schools due to geographical barriers and in places where schools were closed in tribal and difficult areas as per the guidelines, no alternative measures were taken.

Of the 7,400 schools that were closed, 604 were in Gajapati district, followed by 536 in Mayurbhanj, 529 in Cuttack and 493 in Ganjam. The fewest schools were closed in Puri district between 2013 and 2023, according to official sources. Most of these schools were closed or merged with nearby schools because they had fewer than 20 students.

Educators and right to education activists have welcomed the initiative to reopen schools. “The decision to close schools is against the National Education Policy (NEP). Instead of closing schools, the previous government could have converted them into pre-schools or Anganwadi centres. The new government believes that reopening schools is a welcome step and will benefit many children who are deprived of basic school education,” said Anil Pradhan, a right to education activist.