Assam: Over 2,900 govt schools merged, amalgamated with nearby schools in last 5 years

NEW DELHI: Over 2,900 government schools have been merged and amalgamated with nearby schools in Assam for optimum utilisation of resources in the last five years, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Education, Jayant Chaudhary, shared the information in a written response to a question in Lok Sabha about how many government primary and secondary schools have been closed down in Assam during the last five years.

The minister shared that a total of 2,774 elementary schools have been merged and amalgamated during the period, while the number of such secondary schools is 206.

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"No government, provincialised primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools have been closed till date in the state of Assam. However, schools have been merged or amalgamated under the Shiksha Khetra Scheme where there is non-sustainable enrolment or schools situated in the same campus or to optimise the use of available resources into a single administrative and academic unit in adherence to norms and guidelines as per Right To Education Act, 2009," Chaudhary said.

"Schools are rationalised within the distance norms for optimum utilisation of teachers and as effort to reduce drop out. No student has been deprived of getting education after merger or amalgamation and it is also ensured that after merger or amalgamation no student face any difficulty to pursue their schooling as all schools are available within the areas as per RTE norms," he added.