Over 200 schools have less than 20 students

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 20

While the state government recently declared the merger of four schools in Ludhiana, there are also murmurs in the district on the impending mergers in schools with many of them having low student strength.

At present, there are over 200 schools in the district with less than 20 students. These schools include Phillaur Khokhewal (20 students) and Thammanwal and Burj Kala, both of which have less than 20 students. While in 2015, seven schools with less than 20 students were merged in the district, in 2017, of the 800 school up for merger in the state, at least 53 Jalandhar schools were chosen for the same.

While Government Primary School in Sardar Wala had a minimum strength of five students only, a school in Rishi Nagar in the Kartarpur block had only six students in 2017.

In the past, protests have also been witnessed at several schools after the declaration by the government that these would be merged. The Education Department, however, said at present, there were no plans for a merger in Jalandhar.

A teacher (one of the two) at a primary school in Jalandhar said: “Now, there is no declaration for merger of schools in the district but with the announcement made for Ludhiana, who knows which city comes next. Merging schools is a misplaced idea anyways as there is a severe shortage of teachers at primary schools and the two are burdened with twin postal duties and other works of the Education Department as well as the Parho Punjab Parhao Punjab project. The government has to lessen the burden of teachers and fill vacant posts, especially provide more teachers at schools where single teachers are managing the affairs. The move will increase the strength of students in such government schools.”

DEO Rampal said: “There are roughly over 200 schools in the district which have less than 20 students. So far, we have no instructions to merge schools in the district. The Education Department is doing its best to ensure good strength of students at schools. The primary reason for less students is that in many villages there were single panchayats in the past but villages were divided into two sections or panchayats, which further had their respective schools, due to which their strength reduces.”