Uttarakhand government has decided to immediately close all such schools that have fewer than 10 students in order to restore the standard of basic education in the state.

Director General of Education, Bansidhar Tiwari, who confirmed the decision, told The New Indian Express, “The education department has decided to temporarily close 3,000 schools in the state with less than 10 students. Schools with five students in hilly areas and 10 or less students in plains will be closed and children from these schools will be sent to schools closest to excellence.”

However, he made it clear that schools are being temporarily closed until they have sufficient students. On the other hand, he said, “This year there have been an extra 65,000 students and several previously closed schools have also reopened.”

TNIE reported that the ministry is set to improve the department’s image after being at the bottom of the national level in the field of school education this year. Also, the “bhojanmatas” working in those schools will be accommodated in the same school where students are being sent.

What is rationalisation?
Earlier this year, it was the Kerala government that had announced that it would be closing down its 354 single-teacher schools. The provisions of the Right to Education Act (2009) state recommend the "rationalisation" of small schools into "composite schools" that meet certain standards set for schools in the Act. One of the reasons cited for rationalisation is to reduce wastage and underutilisation of resources. It was in 2017 that the Ministry of Human Resource Development had released guidelines to the states for the rationalisation of schools. 

More than 20,000 schools shut down last year
In November, data released by the Ministry of Education revealed that curtains came down on over 20,000 schools during 2021. The report on school education in India stated that in 2020-21, there were 15.09 lakh schools in India, whereas, the number dipped to 14.89 lakh in 2021-22. The report pointed out that this was a result of the closure of schools under private management. The number of teachers in the country also reduced by 1.95%, reported PTI. 

(Additional inputs contributed by EdexLive)