Over 2,900 Assam schools merged for resource optimisation: Centre tells Lok Sabha

More than 2,900 government schools in Assam have been merged with nearby institutions over the past five years to streamline resources and improve educational outcomes, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on December 1. 

In a written reply to a query on the number of government primary and secondary schools closed in the state, Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary clarified that no government or provincialised schools have been shut down. 

Instead, 2,774 elementary schools and 206 secondary schools were merged or amalgamated during this period.

Chaudhary explained that the move was carried out under the Shiksha Khetra Scheme, which allows for the merging of schools with non-sustainable enrolment or those located on the same campus, ensuring better use of available resources. 

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The process, he added, adheres strictly to the norms and guidelines laid out in the Right to Education Act, 2009. He further stated that rationalisation has been done within permissible distance norms to optimise teacher deployment and reduce dropout rates.

The minister emphasised that no student has been deprived of education due to the mergers. All students continue to have access to schooling within their localities as mandated under RTE norms, and care has been taken to ensure that the transition does not create any difficulty for children pursuing their studies.