1,200 schools shut down in Himachal in over two years due to zero or low enrolments: Minister

NEW DELHI: A total of 1,200 schools have been closed in Himachal Pradesh in the past two and a half years, Education Minister Rohit Thakur said on Thursday. Among these 450 schools were closed due to zero enrolments while others were merged because of low enrolment, he said. The minister said several important decisions are being taken to strengthen the education department by the state government and merger as well as reorganisation of schools is also being considered if needed.

He reiterated that a parameter of merging schools, if enrolment is less than 25 from Class 6 to 12 has been kept, and around 100 schools with zero enrollment will be denotified. He informed that the state government has regularised 778 part time water carriers working in the Education Department who had completed 11 years (combined part time water carrier and daily wagers) services as on March 31, 2025 against vacant posts of Class 4.

In a statement issued here, he said that the state government fulfilled the long pending demands of the employees. He further said that the government is also filling up the vacant posts and has sanctioned 15,000 posts of teachers, including 3,900 posts in the primary education department and an additional 3100 posts would soon be filled through Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog.

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During the previous BJP government the recruitment process in the education sector had come to halt, but the present government is actively working to strengthen the education sector by filling vacant posts, Thakur said. The minister said that to strengthen the pre-primary education, 6200 nursery teachers were being appointed. He said that services of more than 200 acting principals working in the educational institutions across the state have been regularised whereas in the higher education department 483 assistant professors had been recruited.

During the last two and a half years, the present government has appointed 700 lecturers in schools, while only 511 lecturers were appointed during the entire five years of tenure of the previous BJP government, he added. According to the 'Annual Status of Education Report' released in January, 2025, the reading skills of government schools' students in Himachal Pradesh were among the best in the country. On most parameters of this survey, Himachal Pradesh has been rated as the top performing state in school education nationwide, the statement said.