Mumbai, July 2 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday told the state council that schools won’t be shut down despite low enrolment of students in some parts of the state.
He also assured the House the appropriate adjustments would be made to accommodate those teachers who are becoming redundant in the wake of the falling number of students in schools in some areas.
“Even if the number of students decreases, no school will be shut,” Eknath Shinde reiterated during his intervention in a discussion on the calling attention motion moved by Vikram Kale (NCP) and others.
The Minister of State (MoS) for School Education, Pankaj Bhoyar, said that the government has not closed any school till now.
Dy CM Shinde said that there are currently 1.8 lakh schools across Maharashtra, of which about 18,000 schools have less than 20 students.
“However, the government will take adequate care to ensure that those schools continue to function and there is no disruption in education in those places. Additional teachers are being adjusted in places where the number of students is increasing. The release of teachers will be done only after the adjustment,” he added.
Dy CM Shinde added that a report submitted by the Central Government has stated that there were no primary schools in 1,650 villages in Maharashtra and no upper primary schools in 6,553 villages.
According to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, it is the responsibility of the State Government and local self-government bodies to start schools in such settlements or villages.
Shinde added that construction of shelters in tribal areas and in areas deprived of educational facilities has begun and about 47 shelters have been built under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan and about 4,700 students have been provided with accommodation facilities.
MoS Bhoyar said that the initiative CM's 'Majhi Shala, Sundar Shala' has made a world record and the government is committed to improving the quality of schools in rural and tribal areas.
“Quality education is also being provided in government schools and students from many private schools are now taking admission in Zilla Parishad and Municipal Corporation schools. Crores of rupees are available through the District Planning Committee for the repair of schools, and if necessary, immediate measures can be taken using legislators’ development funds,” he added.
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