Meghalaya reports low student enrollment in primary schools, education minister says trend 'alarming'

Meghalaya Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma on Monday said that the low enrollment of students in the schools is alarming and that they will verify the data that has been released by the Ministry of Education and take necessary steps.

He mentioned that as per the data 168 primary schools has less than 10 students enrolled similarly 101 upper primary schools also has low enrollment of students. 

Asked what steps will be taken and if closing down these schools is one of the options, the minister emphasised that closure is not a solution though in some if it's feasible then they will do so. However, the minister said that an official will visit the schools to verify the report and following then the next course of action will be taken.

 He added that they have to check and understand what is the cause of low enrollment it can either be lack of infrastructure, lack of teachers or some other issues.

When asked about merging of schools due to low enrollment, Sangma stated that it is not possible because some schools are located in remote or inaccessible areas. "Some schools can be situated at the top of a hill with distances of 5 to 10 kilometers, so it would be difficult for them to commute everyday," mentioned Sangma.

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