Shimla – In a significant move aimed at optimizing educational resources and improving teaching quality, the Himachal Pradesh government has announced the merger of schools with low student numbers. The decision was made during a departmental review meeting held at the state secretariat on Friday, chaired by Education Minister Rohit Thakur.
Under this initiative, schools with fewer students, especially those located in close proximity to each other, will be merged in the first phase. Students and teachers from these under-enrolled schools will be relocated to nearby institutions. Minister Thakur emphasized that this restructuring is essential to ensure a sufficient number of teachers in each school, thereby maintaining educational standards.
“There will be no compromise with the quality of education,” stated Thakur. “This decision is necessary to appoint an adequate number of teachers in schools.”
The meeting also established new criteria for the state-level teacher awards. From now on, the selection of teachers for these awards will primarily be based on their students’ examination results, with additional consideration given to other activities. This change aims to recognize and reward teachers who achieve outstanding academic outcomes.
Additionally, the Education Minister announced the appointment of approximately 2000 Junior Basic Training (JBT) and Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) candidates selected on a batch-wise basis this month. The newly appointed teachers will be assigned to stations within a week, with priority given to schools that currently have only one teacher but a high number of students.
In another major development, the Directorate of Elementary Education has been instructed to amend existing rules to regularize School Management Committee (SMC) teachers. These teachers will first be contracted through Direct Limited Recruitment (LDR) and will be eligible for regularization after two years.
The meeting also reached a consensus on expediting the release of the promotion list for principals. Minister Thakur highlighted the urgent need to address vacancies in the education department, noting that by the end of 2022, approximately 15,000 posts were vacant. Chief Minister Sukhu has approved the filling of 6,000 of these positions, with 2,000 to be filled within a week.
