Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has instructed the education department to consider merging government schools with low enrollment rates. According to media reports, during a meeting with senior education department officials, Chief Minister Sukhu highlighted the importance of this initiative for ensuring adequate staffing in schools and enhancing educational opportunities for students. He expressed concern over the sharp decline in enrollments in government primary schools, which have dropped from 130,466 students in the 2002-2003 academic year to just 49,295 in 2023-24.
Currently, 89 government primary schools in the state have no students enrolled. Additionally, 701 primary schools have fewer than five students each, with 287 of these located within a two-kilometre radius of another school. Furthermore, 109 schools have exactly five students. Among government middle schools, 10 have no students enrolled, while 18 have only five students each.
To address these issues, the state government is establishing Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools in each assembly constituency in a phased manner. Additionally, the government has introduced English medium instruction from the first grade in all government schools.
