The Rajasthan government announced on Friday the merger of 260 government schools with nearby higher secondary schools. The decision was taken due to zero or low enrollment and other viability-related issues. The students and staff of these schools have been relocated to nearby higher secondary institutions, according to an official spokesperson on Saturday.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma (photo:ANI)
The Rajasthan government announced on Friday the merger of 260 government schools with nearby higher secondary schools. The decision was taken due to zero or low enrollment and other viability-related issues. The students and staff of these schools have been relocated to nearby higher secondary institutions, according to an official spokesperson on Saturday.
The merger includes 14 schools—two each from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ajmer, Pali, and Beawar, and one each from Udaipur and Hanumangarh districts—that have now been integrated into nearby schools.
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Before this decision, the state government had previously merged 190 primary schools with well-functioning institutions, bringing the total number of closed schools to 450 in the past year.
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During the previous BJP-led government under Vasundhara Raje (2013–2018), approximately 22,000 government schools were closed due to low enrollment and viability issues.
The government has justified the move as a step toward improving the quality of education. However, opposition Congress leaders have criticized it as anti-poor and anti-people, accusing the government of promoting private schools and reversing development-centric initiatives introduced during the Congress regime.
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