The State of education in the primary and secondary schools remaining grim despite 16 years having passed since the creation of Uttarakhand, hundreds of schools in seven districts across Garhwal region are all set to be closed.
Mention worthy, as per the norms, the schools having less than ten students would be closed. The official report says that there are 1,365 primary schools in seven districts of the region in which the number of students is less than ten. The actual picture which might be even grimmer would come to light after the meeting of the additional director education with the Deputy education officer of the region slated on October 27.
In case such schools are closed the students would be admitted in the nearby schools while the teachers would also be sent to them. Additional director Basic SP Khali said that the schools having less than ten students would be closed in the second week of November in line with the Government norms.
Khali further said that the reason behind the dismal number of students in the Government-run primary schools might be migration.
“However, our focus is on the quality of teachers which would be upgraded. The TET qualification for the teacher has been made a must. The NCRET has given a deadline to the teachers to acquire the TET qualification till March 31 2019. Those who would be left devoid of such qualification might lose jobs,” he said, adding that the rule would be implemented both in the government-run as well as the private schools.
Khali also said that the October 27 meeting would be followed by another slated at Charigaon (Pauri) on October 30 during which the district education officer(basic) would meet the principals of the educational institutions.
The district wise figures of the primary schools with less than 10 students are- Pauri 54, Tehri 304, Chamoli 205, Uttarkasi 117, Dehradun 122, Haridwar 02 and Rudraprayag 75. “The students of these institutions would be shifted to 965 schools and the strength of the students of these schools might reach up to over 20,000,” said Khali.