Arunachal to close 386 govt schools with zero enrolment this year

The Arunachal Pradesh government has ordered the closure of 386 government schools across the state that have recorded zero student enrolment in the current academic year.

The order, issued by the state's Education department on Monday, follows a detailed analysis of data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), which identified a significant number of schools that have remained non-functional, in some cases for several years.

The decision is aimed at rationalising educational infrastructure and making better use of teaching staff and facilities.

The closure affect schools in almost every district, including remote and border regions such as Kurung Kumey, Tawang, Anjaw, Changlang, and Upper Subansiri.

The list includes primary, upper primary, middle, and secondary government schools that have had no student enrolment this year and, in some instances, for multiple academic sessions. 

According to the official notification, West Kameng district reported the highest number of closures, with 73 schools shut down. Other districts with significant numbers include Papum Pare with 50 closures, West Siang with 31, Upper Subansiri and Siang with 28 each, and East Kameng with 23. Several other districts also saw closures ranging from one to 22 schools.

Education department officials explained that the closures are part of a larger rationalisation initiative that focuses on consolidating educational resources and improving learning outcomes.

By closing schools with no students, the government aims to reassign staff to institutions that are actively serving children and require support, they said.

The officials added that the move is aligned with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates for the efficient management of school infrastructure and emphasises the need for quality over quantity.

The department has instructed all deputy directors of school education (DDSEs) and block education officers (BEOs) to ensure the immediate physical closure of the listed schools and begin redeployment of teaching and non-teaching staff wherever necessary.

The officials also confirmed that in cases where students may have recently migrated to the now-closed institutions, arrangements will be made to shift them to nearby functioning schools to prevent any disruption to their education. 

This is the second major round of closures in the state.

Last year, the state government had also closed 600 schools, which were either non-functional or had zero enrolment.

Nearly 600 such schools have already been shut down or merged with other schools; state Education minister Pasang Dorjee Sona had informed the assembly last year.

The northeastern state has over 2,800 government-run lower primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools, with more than 7,600 regular teachers.