Tripura to merge 961 state-run, aided schools

Faced with infrastructure- related issues and low enrolment of students, the Tripura government has decided to merge 961 state-run and aided schools, a minister said on Friday.

The move will be implemented in a phased manner, he said.

"It has come to our notice that out of the 4,398 government and government-aided schools in Tripura, 915 primary schools and 46 upper-primary schools have 0-25 number of students.

"Students do not get proper atmosphere of education in such schools. So, we have decided to merge those 961 schools with the existing ones," Tripura Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters here.

He cited examples of Jharkhand, which had merged 6,446 schools and Odisha (4,200 schools) and got good results.

The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) administration had also merged several schools earlier and the results were positive, Nath said.

"This would be done based on certain criteria like availability of infrastructures, medium of language, views of parents and students. We will take up this initiative gradually by shifting 1,000 students this year and 4,000 and 3,000 in the next two years," the minister said.

Nath also said due to the reorganisation, the state government will provide transportation fares to the students in case the school's distance is over five km from residence.