The Himachal Pradesh government has rolled out its flagship School Cluster System across the state, a move aimed at overcoming the long-standing isolation of small rural schools, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.
He added that the state now has 1,968 school clusters, designed to provide equal access to quality education to children irrespective of where they live.
Under the hub-and-spoke model, a senior secondary school serves as the hub, while seven to eight nearby primary, middle and high schools function as satellite institutions under its administrative supervision.
Through this arrangement, students from smaller schools can use advanced facilities available at hub schools, such as ICT laboratories, science labs, libraries and multi-purpose sports complexes. The principals of hub schools have been tasked with strengthening academic standards from the pre-primary level up to Class 12.
Sukhu said that the reform addressed issues left behind by the previous government, where schools were set up without proper planning, resulting in poor enrolment and financial burden. Following a detailed review, the present government reorganised and consolidated schools, he added.
As per The Times of India report, by December 31, 2025, about 770 primary and middle schools with zero enrolment were denotified, while 532 schools with fewer than five students were merged with nearby institutions. In addition, 21 senior secondary schools and 21 high schools were downgraded or shut due to low student numbers, the Chief Minister said.
He also noted that teacher deployment was rationalised to improve student-teacher ratios, with surplus staff from urban schools relocated to remote areas. Other reforms included the introduction of English as the medium of instruction from Class I, the launch of Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools in every assembly constituency, and international exposure programmes for teachers and students.
These measures have yielded positive results, Sukhu said, with Himachal Pradesh climbing from 21st to 5th rank in the National Achievement Survey by June 2025, indicating substantial improvement in the state’s education system.