Tripura's Education Overhaul: School Merge Plan Sparks Debate

The Tripura government plans to merge schools with fewer than 50 students with nearby institutions to improve the student-teacher ratio. This move follows a directive from the Centre and aims to optimize educational resources. However, the plan has sparked opposition, with critics claiming it will hurt poor and tribal students.

The Tripura government has embarked on a significant initiative targeting schools with a student strength of less than 50, floating the idea of merging these with nearby educational institutes boasting better enrolment figures, an official announced on Sunday.

This exercise, following a Centre directive issued last month, is expected to conclude by the end of June, according to Kaliprasad Chakma, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the Education Department. The move is intended to bolster the learning system by optimizing the student-teacher ratio. Senior Education Officers across districts have been tasked to identify government schools falling below this threshold for potential mergers with institutes situated within a 1 to 1.5 km radius.

Preliminary data reveals that around 800 junior and senior basic schools statewide possess enrolments under 50 students, out of a total of approximately 2,500 such schools. The objective is to rationalize teacher distribution, as considerable imbalances exist, such as schools with just 13 students but three teachers, whereas other schools face staff shortages. The complete exercise will involve consultations with school management committees (SMCs) and local bodies before a final report is submitted to the government for decisive actions.

In contrast, opposition voices, such as youth Congress leader Md. Shajahan Islam, accuse the BJP-led administration of pushing poor students towards private schooling by closing down government-run schools. Similarly, Sujit Tripura of the CPI (M)-backed Tribal Students' Union criticized the initiative, arguing it deprives tribal students in rural areas of educational opportunities.

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