Wednesday, 27 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Education department has decided to build Anganwadi centres, Panchayat Bhawans and other facilities in the buildings of government schools which were closed due to a lack of enough students. The department has received reports indicating a decrease in student numbers across government schools in the State. Consequently, the director general of Education, Banshidhar Tiwari had sought information about the closed government schools in the State from all chief education officers in the districts. Tiwari stated that based on the reports received, a total of 1,671 schools have been closed and the enrollment in 3,573 schools has dwindled to 10 students or fewer, he said.
He further said that in the Pauri district, a total of 315 government schools have ceased operation due to insufficient student enrollment, which is a maximum number of such schools among all the districts in the State. Contrastingly, in Udham Singh Nagar district, about 21 schools have been shut down. He further said that various government schools had been closed in other districts including 197 in Almora, 53 in Bageshwar, 53 in Chamoli, 133 in Champawat and 124 in Dehradun, among others.
Commenting on the closure of the government schools, Tiwari said that the closure of government schools has been confirmed in each district. Considering this, the department has decided to repurpose these buildings as Anganwadi centres, homestays, ANM centres and Panchayat Bhawans. This initiative aims to ensure the effective utilisation of existing infrastructure, he said.
