Merger of schools: Nurpur residents oppose govt notification, say decision taken without consulting stakeholders
Several social organisations, including the Nurpur Kalyan Sabha, Freethinkers Club, Jan Chetna and the Nurpur Sudhar Sabha, have also opposed the merger of the schools
The decision to merge PM Shri Government Model Senior Secondary School (Girls), Nurpur, with Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) has led to resentment among residents and parents in the town. The girls’ school is at present housed in the historic residence of Justice Bakshi Tek Chand in Ward No. 8 of Nurpur and named after Bakshi Tek Chand (BTC). The boys’ school is located close to the historic Nurpur Fort.
The Education Department issued a notification on February 18 announcing the merger of 12 boys’ and girls’ schools in Kangra district and the creation of six CBSE-affiliated coeducational government senior secondary schools. The notified mergers include schools at Nurpur, Indora, Dehra, Jawali, Palampur and Dharamsala. However, the decision has raised concerns among residents, particularly the parents of girl students, who have objected to the restarting of coeducation in schools in the district.
Ashok Sharma and Rajni Mahajan, outgoing president and vice-president of the Municipal Council, Nurpur, have opposed the merger of the schools. They allege that the decision has been taken without consulting the stakeholders, local residents and the parents of girls’ students. They emphasise that the family of Justice Bakshi Tek Chand had donated the BTC school building specifically for the education of girls, reflecting his lifelong commitment to women’s empowerment.
Several social organisations, including the Nurpur Kalyan Sabha, Freethinkers Club, Jan Chetna and the Nurpur Sudhar Sabha, have also opposed the merger of the schools. They have urged the government to take back the notification for BTC Girls’ School where girl students have been studying in a safe and disciplined atmosphere for the past over six decades in the town. Shekhar Pathania, Pradeep Sharma, Sachit Sharma and Ritesh say that the Education Department has taken a hasty decision to merge schools.
In Jawali, former MLA Arjun Singh Thakur has opposed the merger of the boys’ and girls’ schools. In Indora, local people are opposing the merger of a girls’ senior secondary school with a boys’ senior secondary school. Former Indora MLA Reeta Dhiman has condemned the merger of the girls’ school established in 1972 during the regime YS Parmar, first Chief Minister of the state, with the boys’ school and carve out a coeducational institution against the wishes of the locals.
Luminary Bakshi Tek Chand, remembered as Sir Bakshi, was not only a distinguished jurist but also a visionary social activist who was elevated to the post of the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court before Partition. He passed away in August 1962 and his wife Leelawati donated their house to the government and ensured it would be used exclusively for girls’ school education in line with her husband’s vision of women empowerment.
Geeti Bhagat, a granddaughter of Bakshi Tek Chand, has also criticised the government decision to merge schools suddenly without taking into confidence local residents and the family members of Sir Bakshi.
