Lok Sabha Question No. 2096 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-05
Subject: School Closed/Merged under Rationalization Policy  2020-21
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Kirsan Namdeo, Shri Murari Lal Meena, Smt. Jyotsna Charandas Mahant

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO2096

ANSWERED ON- 05.08.2024

## SCHOOL CLOSED/MERGED UNDER RATIONALIZATION POLICY 2020-21

2096. Dr. Kirsan Namdeo: Shri Murari Lal Meena: Smt. Jyotsna Charandas Mahant : Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a)  the  total  number  of  schools  closed/merged  since  the  introduction  of  school rationalization policy 2020-21, State-wise and year-wise especially in Chhattisgarh; (b)  the  total  number  of  Government  schools/Government  aided  schools/private schools functioning since the year 2019, State-wise and year-wise; (c)  whether  the  Government  has  made/proposes  to  make  any  assessment  of  the impact of the closure or merger of the schools, if so, the details thereof; and (d) whether the number of drop outs have increased after merger of the schools and
2. if so, the corrective action taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a)  to  (c):  Education  is  in  the  Concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  the  opening, merger/closing of schools are within the purview of respective State Government and UT Administration-which are the appropriate Government under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory  Education  (RTE)  Act, 2009  provides  children's  access  to  elementary  schools  within  the  defined  area  or limits of neighbourhood. In pursuance to Section 6 of the RTE Act, all States have notified area or limits of their neighbourhood norms. Further, Section 8 of the RTE

Act,  2009  also  mandates  that  the  appropriate  government  shall  provide  free  and compulsory  elementary  education  to  every  child  and  will  ensure  availability  of neighbourhood schools.

Further,  National  Education  Policy  (NEP),  2020  endorses  the  idea  of  the school  complex/cluster  or  any  other  innovative  mechanism  adopted  by  the  States and UTs to group or rationalize schools, wherever possible and without any adverse impact  on  access.  The  aim  of  the  school  complex/cluster  is  greater  resource efficiency and more effective functioning, coordination, leadership, governance, and management of schools in the cluster.

The total number of Government schools/Government aided schools/private schools  functioning since the year 2019-20,  State-wise  and  year-wise,  is at Annexure I.

(d): The drop out rate from 2019-20, State-wise and year-wise, is at Annexure II. The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing an integrated centrally sponsored  scheme  for  School  education-  Samagra  Shiksha.  The  scheme  treats school education holistically, without segmentation from pre-primary to class XII and is  in  accordance  with  Sustainable  Development  Goal  for  Education  (SDG-4).  The scheme provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act, 2009.

The Scheme has now been aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and aims to ensure that all children have access to quality  education  with  an  equitable  and  inclusive  classroom  environment  which should  take  care  of  their  diverse  background,  multilingual  needs,  and  different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

Under  the  scheme,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  States  and  UTs  for undertaking  various  activities  to  reduce  number  of  drop  out  students  including opening/strengthening of  new  schools  upto senior  secondary  level,  construction of school  buildings  &  additional  classrooms,  development/strengthening  of  school infrastructure in northern border areas under Vibrant Village Programme through the convergence of existing scheme of DOSEL, setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas,  construction  of  hostels  for  PVTGs  under  PMJANMAN,  setting  up  of  Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya  Vidyalayas,  free uniforms  to  eligible  children  and  free  text  books  at  elementary  level,  transport allowance  and  undertaking  enrolment  &  retention  drives.  Special  training  for  age appropriate  admission  of  out  of  school  children  and  residential  as  well  as  nonresidential  training  for  older  children,  seasonal  hostels  /  residential  camps,  special training centres at worksites, transport/ escort facility are also supported to bring out of  school  children  to  the  formal  schooling  system.  Under  the  student  oriented component for the children with special needs, financial assistance is provided for identification  and  assessment  of  children  with  special  needs,  aids  and  appliances, braille  kits  and  books,  appropriate  teaching  learning  material  and  stipend  to  girl students with disability etc. Further, financial assistance upto Rs. 2000 per annum is provided for Out of School  Children  of  age  group  of  16-19  years,  belonging  to  socio  economically disadvantaged  groups,  for  completing  their  education  through  NIOS/SIOS,  for accessing course materials and certification. Under 'Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman' (PM POSHAN) one hot cooked meal in Government and Government aided schools is provided to students at the elementary level of education, including Balvatika.

Also, Section 10 of the RTE Act states that it  is the duty of every parent or guardian to admit or cause to be admitted his or her child or ward, as the case may be, for elementary education in the neighbourhood school.

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ANNEXURE I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2096 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 TH  AUGUST, 2024 ASKED BY HON'BLE MP DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO, SHRI MURARI LAL MEENA AND SMT. JYOTSNA CHARANDAS MAHANT REGARDING SCHOOL CLOSED/MERGED UNDER RATIONALIZATION POLICY 2020-21

| State/UTs                                       | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   | Total Number of Schools   |
|-------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
| State/UTs                                       | 2019-20                   | Government 2020-21        | 2021-22                   | 2019-20                   | Aided 2020-21             | 2021-22                   | 2019-20                   | Private 2020-21           | 2021-22                   |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands                       | 342                       | 342                       | 342                       | 2                         | 2                         | 2                         | 73                        | 73                        | 72                        |
| Andhra Pradesh                                  | 45115                     | 45145                     | 45137                     | 2234                      | 2121                      | 1542                      | 16173                     | 15792                     | 15058                     |
| Arunachal Pradesh                               | 3056                      | 3061                      | 2985                      | 65                        | 67                        | 68                        | 493                       | 496                       | 503                       |
| Assam                                           | 47157                     | 46749                     | 45490                     | 5024                      | 4983                      | 3841                      | 6074                      | 6045                      | 5852                      |
| Bihar                                           | 72610                     | 75555                     | 75558                     | 721                       | 735                       | 742                       | 7630                      | 7923                      | 8097                      |
| Chandigarh                                      | 121                       | 121                       | 123                       | 7                         | 7                         | 7                         | 74                        | 75                        | 76                        |
| Chhattisgarh                                    | 48547                     | 48619                     | 48743                     | 431                       | 430                       | 417                       | 7008                      | 7131                      | 7063                      |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli                            | 300                       | 407                       | 388                       | 4                         | 8                         | 8                         | 42                        | 63                        | 63                        |
| Daman & Diu                                     | 109                       |                           |                           | 4                         |                           |                           | 23                        |                           |                           |
| Delhi                                           | 2767                      | 2751                      | 2762                      | 250                       | 250                       | 247                       | 2652                      | 2641                      | 2610                      |
| Goa                                             | 827                       | 821                       | 814                       | 517                       | 522                       | 557                       | 138                       | 138                       | 139                       |
| Gujarat                                         | 35040                     | 34967                     | 34699                     | 5688                      | 5640                      | 5590                      | 13898                     | 13834                     | 13559                     |
| Haryana                                         | 14484                     | 14563                     | 14562                     | 17                        | 17                        | 16                        | 8195                      | 8235                      | 8261                      |
| Himachal Pradesh                                | 15398                     | 15391                     | 15380                     | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         | 2786                      | 2753                      | 2646                      |
| Jammu & Kashmir                                 | 23165                     | 23167                     | 23173                     | 1                         | 1                         | 1                         | 5585                      | 5649                      | 5526                      |
| Jharkhand                                       | 35931                     | 35888                     | 35840                     | 1173                      | 1175                      | 1175                      | 1522                      | 1542                      | 1559                      |
| Karnataka                                       | 49834                     | 49791                     | 49679                     | 7244                      | 7182                      | 7110                      | 20069                     | 19915                     | 19650                     |
| Kerala                                          | 5014                      | 5020                      | 5010                      | 7193                      | 7191                      | 7183                      | 3282                      | 3241                      | 3164                      |
| Ladakh                                          | 913                       | 915                       | 838                       | 29                        | 29                        | 28                        | 112                       | 112                       | 112                       |
| Lakshadweep                                     | 45                        | 45                        | 38                        | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         |
| Madhya Pradesh                                  | 99411                     | 99152                     | 92695                     | 790                       | 773                       | 740                       | 31201                     | 31512                     | 30345                     |
| Maharashtra                                     | 65886                     | 65734                     | 65639                     | 23791                     | 23924                     | 24037                     | 19654                     | 19632                     | 19268                     |
| Manipur                                         | 2876                      | 2878                      | 2889                      | 585                       | 585                       | 583                       | 1015                      | 1027                      | 1010                      |
| Meghalaya                                       | 7799                      | 7795                      | 7783                      | 4180                      | 4176                      | 4172                      | 2198                      | 2179                      | 2120                      |
| Mizoram                                         | 2552                      | 2558                      | 2563                      | 231                       | 231                       | 230                       | 1046                      | 1050                      | 1034                      |
| Nagaland                                        | 2011                      | 1975                      | 1960                      | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         | 746                       | 743                       | 757                       |
| Odisha                                          | 53260                     | 50256                     | 49072                     | 5839                      | 5844                      | 5807                      | 6375                      | 6393                      | 6104                      |
| Puducherry                                      | 422                       | 422                       | 422                       | 33                        | 33                        | 33                        | 286                       | 286                       | 281                       |
| Punjab                                          | 19377                     | 19330                     | 19259                     | 457                       | 455                       | 450                       | 8623                      | 8893                      | 7978                      |
| Rajasthan                                       | 67660                     | 68813                     | 68948                     | 0                         | 0                         | 0                         | 36056                     | 36023                     | 34826                     |
| Sikkim                                          | 851                       | 851                       | 864                       | 19                        | 19                        | 19                        | 407                       | 393                       | 376                       |
| Tamilnadu                                       | 37579                     | 37589                     | 37636                     | 8328                      | 8326                      | 8323                      | 12382                     | 12402                     | 12396                     |
| Telangana                                       | 30001                     | 30015                     | 30023                     | 702                       | 700                       | 700                       | 11688                     | 12023                     | 12193                     |
| Tripura                                         | 4275                      | 4265                      | 4262                      | 45                        | 43                        | 43                        | 352                       | 360                       | 363                       |
| Uttar Pradesh                                   | 137638                    | 137068                    | 137024                    | 8048                      | 8125                      | 8113                      | 93750                     | 96741                     | 97808                     |
| Uttarakhand                                     | 16741                     | 16651                     | 16484                     | 617                       | 614                       | 608                       | 5467                      | 5396                      | 5225                      |
| West Bengal                                     | 83455                     | 83379                     | 83302                     | 93                        | 87                        | 88                        | 10424                     | 10042                     | 9750                      |
| INDIA                                           | 10,32,569                 | 10,32,049                 | 10,22,386                 | 84,362                    | 84,295                    | 82,480                    | 3,37,499                  | 3,40,753                  | 3,35,844                  |
| Source: UDISE+ * in 2020-21 & 2021 D&NH and D&D |                           |                           |                           |                           |                           |                           |                           |                           |                           |

ANNEXURE II ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2096 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 TH  AUGUST, 2024 ASKED BY HON'BLE MP DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO, SHRI MURARI LAL MEENA AND SMT. JYOTSNA CHARANDAS MAHANT REGARDING SCHOOL CLOSED/MERGED UNDER RATIONALIZATION POLICY 2020-21

|                          | Drop out Rate   | Drop out Rate   | Drop out Rate   | Drop out Rate   | Drop out Rate   | Drop out Rate   |
|--------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|                          | 2020-21         | 2020-21         | 2020-21         | 2021-22         | 2021-22         | 2021-22         |
| State/UTs Name           | Primary         | Upper Primary   | Secondary       | Primary         | Upper Primary   | Secondary       |
| ANDAMAN &NICOBAR ISLANDS | 2.3             | 0.4             | 7.0             | 0.4             | 1.0             | 5.0             |
| ANDHRA PRADESH           | 0.0             | 0.5             | 16.7            | 0.0             | 1.6             | 16.3            |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH        | 8.1             | 7.1             | 10.1            | 9.3             | 6.7             | 11.7            |
| ASSAM                    | 3.3             | 4.9             | 30.3            | 6.0             | 8.8             | 20.3            |
| BIHAR                    | 0.0             | 2.8             | 17.6            | 0.0             | 4.6             | 20.5            |
| CHANDIGARH               | 0.0             | 0.4             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 0.0             |
| CHHATTISGARH             | 0.7             | 4.1             | 13.4            | 0.8             | 4.1             | 9.7             |
| DADRA& NAGAR HAVELI      | 3.9             | 1.7             | 17.7            | 0.0             | 0.0             | 9.5             |
| DAMAN&DIU                |                 |                 |                 |                 |                 |                 |
| DELHI                    | 0.0             | 1.1             | 6.1             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 4.8             |
| GOA                      | 1.5             | 0.7             | 5.7             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 9.0             |
| GUJARAT                  | 1.0             | 4.5             | 23.3            | 0.0             | 4.9             | 17.9            |
| HARYANA                  | 2.1             | 1.8             | 10.8            | 0.0             | 0.2             | 5.9             |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH         | 1.9             | 1.4             | 7.6             | 0.0             | 0.6             | 1.5             |
| JAMMU &KASHMIR           | 4.4             | 3.4             | 3.7             | 4.0             | 3.0             | 6.0             |
| JHARKHAND                | 3.5             | 5.4             | 13.0            | 1.8             | 3.9             | 9.3             |
| KARNATAKA                | 1.1             | 2.0             | 16.6            | 0.0             | 1.1             | 14.6            |
| KERALA                   | 0.0             | 0.0             | 7.1             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 5.5             |
| Ladakh                   | 4.1             | 2.1             | 3.4             | 6.5             | 1.1             | 4.9             |
| LAKSHADWEEP              | 0.0             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 0.5             | 2.6             | 0.0             |
| MADHYA PRADESH           | 1.3             | 6.4             | 23.8            | 3.1             | 8.8             | 10.1            |
| MAHARASHTRA              | 1.0             | 1.5             | 11.2            | 0.0             | 1.5             | 10.7            |
| MANIPUR                  | 8.5             | 4.0             | 9.4             | 13.3            | 5.6             | 1.3             |
| MEGHALAYA                | 7.4             | 8.9             | 27.6            | 9.8             | 10.6            | 21.7            |
| MIZORAM                  | 8.1             | 5.3             | 20.0            | 6.3             | 2.7             | 11.9            |
| NAGALAND                 | 5.9             | 4.2             | 23.6            | 5.0             | 4.0             | 17.5            |
| ODISHA                   | 0.0             | 0.0             | 16.0            | 0.0             | 7.3             | 27.3            |
| PUDUCHERRY               | 0.0             | 0.0             | 6.9             | 3.7             | 2.4             | 6.3             |
| PUNJAB                   | 0.0             | 0.0             | 9.0             | 1.3             | 8.0             | 17.2            |
| RAJASTHAN                | 1.0             | 2.7             | 8.9             | 3.6             | 4.3             | 7.6             |
| SIKKIM                   | 1.2             | 0.0             | 21.6            | 1.8             | 0.0             | 11.9            |
| TAMIL NADU               | 0.6             | 0.6             | 6.4             | 0.0             | 0.0             | 4.5             |
| TELANGANA                | 0.0             | 0.0             | 13.9            | 0.0             | 3.1             | 13.7            |
| TRIPURA                  | 4.2             | 5.5             | 26.7            | 1.1             | 4.5             | 8.3             |

| UTTAR PRADESH                                    | 2.2                                              | 4.6                                              | 12.5                                             | 2.7   | 2.9   | 9.7   |
|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|
| UTTARAKHAND                                      | 1.7                                              | 2.1                                              | 8.3                                              | 0.8   | 2.7   | 5.0   |
| WEST BENGAL                                      | 0.0                                              | 0.0                                              | 13.3                                             | 8.6   | 0.0   | 18.0  |
| INDIA                                            | 0.8                                              | 2.3                                              | 14.0                                             | 1.5   | 3.0   | 12.6  |
| Source: UDISE+                                   |                                                  |                                                  |                                                  |       |       |       |
| * 2020-21& 2021-22 D&NH and D&D merged as one UT | * 2020-21& 2021-22 D&NH and D&D merged as one UT | * 2020-21& 2021-22 D&NH and D&D merged as one UT | * 2020-21& 2021-22 D&NH and D&D merged as one UT |       |       |       |

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