Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed the education department to consider merging government schools with low enrolments. In a meeting with senior education officers, the CM emphasized that this move would ensure adequate staffing and improve the quality of education for students.

Sukhu expressed concern over the declining enrolments in government primary schools, which have dropped from 1,30,466 in 2002-2003 to 49,295 in 2023-24. He highlighted that 89 government primary schools currently have zero students, and 701 primary schools have fewer than five students, with 287 of these located within two kilometers of another school. Additionally, 10 government middle schools have zero enrolments, and 18 have only five students.

The chief minister also announced the establishment of Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools in each assembly constituency to ensure quality education and holistic development for students. He noted that his government has introduced several innovative initiatives to improve standards in government institutions, including the implementation of English medium instruction from the first class.

State Education Minister Rohit Thakur and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ashish Butail were also present at the meeting.

Source: PTI

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