The School and Mass Education Department on Monday issued show-cause notices to as many as 195 schools having less than five students on their rolls each and asked them to explain why they should not be closed down.
School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra, however, informed that the course of action would be decided only after replies to the show-cause notices are received.
Mishra said students of the schools, which are ultimately shut down, would be accommodated in other schools within a distance of 2-3 km from their villages. Similarly, teachers of these schools too would be transferred to nearby schools.
Sources in the department said the move has been initiated after it was found that some schools had five or less students on their rolls each for years at a stretch, which posed several problems for the Government.
The Government is facing problems in providing teachers, midday meals and other logistics as per the provisions of the Right to Education Act, which provides for free and compulsory education for children between the age of 6 to 14 years, sources revealed.