Arunachal Pradesh Closes Down 386 Schools for Zero Enrollment

As part of its gigantic exercise to restructure its education department, the Arunachal Pradesh government directed 386 state-owned schools spread all over the state to shut immediately on account of zero enrollment. The move, after the state Education Department conducted a thorough audit, is done with an intention of streamlining educational infrastructure and giving importance to quality rather than quantity.

The audit, based on the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data, confirmed that the schools were closed down for years. Their closure in almost all frontier and remote districts has been unprecedented. West Kameng district has the highest number of 73 closed-down schools, followed by Papum Pare with 50 schools. Government also intends to relocate the teaching and non-teaching personnel from the closed schools to the high-enrollment schools to enhance the provision of education. There will also be provision for admitting students who might have just joined then-closed schools into proximal running schools.

This initiative has been implemented in synchronism with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which has been designed to maximize educational infrastructure and enhance learning achievements. By closing the redundant schools, the state seeks to maximize its resources and increase the quality of education in general. The project will surely leave a lasting legacy on the education sector of the state, especially in rural and far-flung areas where quality education is already compromised. But the determination of the government to place quality and maximize resources above others will benefit students in the long term. With this commendable step, Arunachal Pradesh is one of the states going the extra mile in revamping and enhancing its educational system. The move is regarded as a move towards making sure all students are given proper education regardless of the hurdles created by geography and accessibility.