Lok Sabha Question No. 4951 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Closure of School in Tribal Areas
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh

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

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4951 ANSWERED ON - 23/03/2026

## Closure of School in Tribal Areas

## 4951. Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Government and Government-aided schools functioning in Scheduled Tribe-dominated areas of Maharashtra since 2014-15, including the number of schools opened and closed during the same period, year-wise;
- (b) the number of closures attributed to low or zero enrolment and the criteria adopted for such rationalisation in tribal habitations;
- (c) whether free transport facilities, residential hostels or bridge schooling arrangements have been provided to students affected by school closures, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of additional financial or academic incentives provided to Scheduled Tribe students to enhance enrolment and retention; and
- (e) whether any impact assessment has been conducted on school access and dropout rates in tribal areas following such closures, if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e): 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 Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing Samagra Shiksha, an integrated scheme for school education in 2018-19 covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. The scheme has also been aligned with the recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 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, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

Para 7.4 of the National Education Policy 2020 underscores that although consolidation of schools is an option, must be carried out very judiciously, and only when it is ensured that there is no impact on access. To achieve better learning outcomes and appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTR)  across  upper  primary  and  secondary  levels,  some  states  have  adopted  appropriate strategies to establish the larger schools as per aspirations of the public.

Under Samagra Shiksha, all States and UTs submit their proposals for all interventions contained in  the  scheme through their Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B) as per their priorities and requirements. The proposals are appraised and approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) in the Ministry in consultation with the respective State/UT government and funds are allocated accordingly, as per norms.

As per information received from the state, Scheduled Tribe-dominated districts of Maharashtra include Amravati, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Nandurbar, Nashik, Palghar, Raigad, Thane, and Yavatmal.

As informed by the State, year-wise details of the number of Government and Government-aided schools functioning in Scheduled Tribe-dominated areas of Maharashtra since 2014-15 is as under:

| Year    | Functioning Schools   | Functioning Schools   |
|---------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|         | Government            | Government-aided      |
| 2014-15 | 26437                 | 9590                  |
| 2015-16 | 26654                 | 9750                  |
| 2016-17 | 26477                 | 9668                  |
| 2017-18 | 26259                 | 9700                  |
| 2018-19 | 25947                 | 9685                  |
| 2019-20 | 25883                 | 9683                  |
| 2020-21 | 25806                 | 9687                  |
| 2021-22 | 25761                 | 9676                  |
| 2022-23 | 25680                 | 9623                  |
| 2023-24 | 25591                 | 9620                  |
| 2024-25 | 25008                 | 9624                  |
| 2025-26 | 25363                 | 9603                  |

One of the focus areas of the Samagra Shiksha scheme is to reduce the dropout rate and the number of Out of School Children (OoSC). The scheme includes the provision of opening and strengthening of new schools up to senior secondary level; construction of school buildings and additional classrooms; setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas; setting up of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas; free uniforms, free text books, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives. Further, financial assistance is provided to the State/UT Government for opening and running of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Awasiya Vidyalayas in remote, sparsely populated and difficult to reach areas, hilly terrains, areas affected  by  LWE,  large  uninhabited  areas  with  natural  barriers.  Financial  assistance  is  also provided  under  PM-JANMAN  component  of  Samagra  Shiksha  to  the  States  and  UTs  for  the unserved identified Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups and under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) component of Samagra Shiksha, for the unserved ST population.

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