Government Teachers' Jobs at Risk: 20 Schools Face Closure in MP City

Twenty government schools in Bhopal are on the verge of closure due to declining student enrollment.

MP News: Twenty government schools in Bhopal are on the verge of closure due to declining student enrollment. These schools will be merged with Sandipani or CM Rise schools. The aim is to expand CM Rise schools by closing down smaller schools in the city.

Bhopal has 836 government schools with approximately one lakh students enrolled. While the enrollment process is ongoing, twenty schools have very low student numbers. Jahangira school in the old city, for instance, has around fifty students enrolled up to the twelfth grade. Primary schools in the city also show very low admissions. If the numbers don't improve, these schools will be removed from the department's records. Last year, four hundred schools across the state were closed, including six in Bhopal, following instructions from the School Education Department due to zero enrollment.

Eight CM Rise Schools Have Higher Enrollment

The city has eight CM Rise schools. The schools facing potential merger are located near these schools. According to the School Education Department's rules, students within a one-kilometre radius of a CM Rise school will be given first priority.

These Schools Face the Biggest Challenges

• Schools near Jahangira, Malviya Nagar, TT Nagar, Panchsheel Nagar, Arera Colony, and BHEL face the most significant challenges.
• Teachers instructed to find and enroll children in the area.

All principals have been instructed to increase student enrollment. They are to survey the school's surroundings to identify children not currently enrolled and encourage their admission. A special focus is on schools with low enrollment.-NK Ahirawat, DEO

Organisations Accuse Policies of Contributing to Declining Student Numbers

Teachers attribute the decline in government school enrollment to government policies. According to Upendra Kaushal (उपेन्द्र कौशल), president of a teachers' organisation, they have written to the department several times about this issue. Teachers have been burdened with non-educational tasks, impacting results and contributing to the distance between schools and students. Meanwhile, teachers have received instructions to increase student numbers by searching for unenrolled children in the surrounding areas and persuading parents to enrol them.