Shimla — The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to merge high and senior secondary schools with low student enrollment located within a five-kilometer radius of each other. The move aims to rationalize resources and improve efficiency in the state’s education sector.
The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Education Minister Rohit Thakur at the Secretariat on Friday. The Directorate of Education has been asked to submit a detailed proposal for implementing the school merger plan. As per the decision, high schools with fewer than 20 students and senior secondary schools with fewer than 25 students will be considered for merger.
Minister Thakur said schools with single-digit enrollments from Class 9 to 12 need to be closed in the larger interest of students and the education system. “The final decision on such closures will be taken on a case-to-case basis,” he added. A follow-up meeting with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will be held soon after collecting the complete data on student enrollments.
The Education Minister also directed officials to prepare a comprehensive guideline for the merger process, covering all levels from primary to senior secondary schools. These guidelines will be framed based on the recommendations of the Finance Department.
In addition, the minister asked the education department to prepare a proposal for proper staff allocation across schools and directorates. A report has also been sought on the rationalization of teachers in proportion to student strength.
The government also made a key decision to give regular appointments to principals who were placed in posts between 2013 and 2016. This long-pending issue is now set to be resolved.
Meanwhile, seven government colleges with zero admissions this academic year will be closed. These include colleges located in Galod, Tauni Devi, Basdehra, Jury, Narg, and Kaza. Earlier, the government was considering merging colleges with fewer than 100 students, but that proposal has been put on hold for now.
