Jharkhand govt may reopen schools closed during BJP regime

The state administration's schools and literacy department is considering reopening schools that were closed or merged with other institutes for various reasons during the previous BJP administration between 2014 and 2019. The Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) has initiated steps in this regard by asking all the 24 districts to conduct surveys at their level and provide feedback for taking a suitable decision.

According to JPEC data, about 4,096 schools have been closed or merged since the 2016-17 academic session due to reasons such as lack of sufficient number of students, shortage of teachers or close proximity between two similar schools. The BJP government then justified the move to rationalize state education for better efficiency. However, the move was met with opposition and criticism from various levels, claiming that it also led to high absenteeism.

Sources in the Ministry of Education said a new bid had been launched to assess the closure of the school and take remedial measures. On February 24, JEPC director Kiran Kumar Passi circulated letters to all deputy commissioners asking them to conduct surveys.

“Education Minister (Jagarnnath Mahto) has received several representations from across the state against the closure of schools. Many argued that the closure did not have the desired impact, while others said that geographical issues in many areas have left students out of school or face challenges in their daily commute to difficult terrain. It also came to light that students are often forced to take risks as they cross state and national highways to reach schools in some areas. Therefore, all districts have been directed to initiate surveys and review the condition of schools in their respective jurisdictions and send the report to the headquarters so that appropriate decisions can be taken to reopen them,” the letter said.