Arunachal govt to close down zero enrolment schools: Education

The Arunachal Pradesh government has approved closing down of zero enrolment schools and a notification with guidelines has been issued in this regard, state Education Minister Taba Tedir said on Monday.

Responding to a question by BJP MLA Nyato Rigia during the Question Hour in the Assembly, Tedir informed the House that the decision was taken after the education department conducted a survey of the schools that are non-functional due to no enrolment of students.

A total of 311 schools in the state are defunct due to zero enrolment, as per 2018-19 data of the Unified District Information on School Education Plus (UDISE+).

The minister, in response to a supplementary question, said that the teachers of the zero enrolment schools will be posted in other educational institutions where there is a shortage of educators.

Tedir said the infrastructure of the closed down schools will be handed over to the deputy commissioners who will decide how to utilise them.

The minister said the state government will focus on strengthening the functional schools.

Most of the defunct schools are located in remote areas of the state and the major reasons behind zero enrolment are migration of families closer to the district headquarters and lack of infrastructure facilities, sources said.

Arunachal Pradesh has 1,300 primary, 300 middle and 103 high schools that are functional, officials said.