19 schools in Pune district shut, fate of 56 on hold

PUNE: After the state government’s decision to shut down schools with less than 10 students, 19 schools have been closed. A decision about 56 others in Pune district, also on the closure list, has not been taken as yet.
The state government wants to consolidate small schools. Education minister Vinod Tawde had said the immediate closure of the 1,300 schools will “give students a better social setting to learn”.

According to him, schools which have less than ten students tend to be extremely isolated.

After reports about schools in difficult and inaccessible areas being shut down were carried in TOI, block education officers and assistant education officers were told to take a review of all the schools in the list. Their findings were sent to the government which has to decide about them.

“Of the 75 schools in the final list, 19 have been merged. The other 56 have various difficulties. Some are in remote areas and in many cases villagers have protested against closing down the school. The education officers have sent their remarks after visiting these schools and those have been included in our final report that has been sent to the government,” a Pune Zilla Parishad official, who did not wish to be named, said.

Meanwhile, teachers and students are caught in a fix as the academic year has almost come to an end and they still have no clue whether they will be joining the same school or a different one, when the schools reopen in June.

A teacher from a school that will be shut said the parents still ask if a decision has been taken. “They are anxious. The students are too young to understand the confusion. It is important that they don’t shut down schools in villages as they are the only means to get primary education,” the teacher added.

Another teacher said they were hoping a decision will come before May 5. “The term ends in Zilla Parishad schools on May 5 and they reopen around June 15. The government should decide so that we will also know where we have been adjusted and plan accordingly. If they have decided to quash the closure or merger order for the remaining schools, then that should be communicated,” the teacher said, adding that those who have been teaching in difficult areas for a period of more than three years should be given a better posting.

After the closure of small schools, the teachers and children will be shifted to nearby institutions as part of an attempt to merge infrastructure. In some of the remote and poor parts of Maharashtra, travelling to a new school means encountering snakes, missing bridges and flooded roads.