Punjab Newsline, Shimla, July 23-
CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state govt was laying special focus on providing quality education to the students in govt educational institutions. He was presiding over a meeting of senior officers of the Education department, here today.
The CM expressed serious concern over the declining number of enrolments in government primary schools which had dropped from 1,30,466 in 2002-2003 to 49,295 in 2023-24.
He said that there were 89 govt primary schools and 10 govt middle schools currently having zero enrolment students in the state. He said that 701 primary schools had student’s enrolment of less than five, out of which 287 schools were located within the radius of two kilometers of another school whereas additional 109 schools had strength of only five students. Furthermore, 46 middle schools were within the radius of three kilometers, whereas 18 additional schools had only five students.
Sukhu said that in view of above facts, it was essential to rationalize the functioning of schools and directed the Education department to explore the possibilities of merging the schools having low enrolments. This step would not only ensure adequate staff in the schools but also pave the way for providing quality education to the students studying in the government schools.