Assam schools are not shut but merged'; Ministers slam Delhi CM for remark on school closure

State education minister Ranoj Pegu emphasised that the 34 government schools in Assam are not being closed; rather, they are being consolidated based on enrollment after the state government’s proposal to close them garnered harsh criticism. The decision by the state administration to close schools followed this year’s disappointing Class 10 exam results in Assam. “Shutting down schools is not the answer.” Simply put, we need to start many new schools around the nation. Arvind Kejriwal, the mayor of Delhi, tweeted, “Improve the school instead of closing it and make education proper.” Some Twitter users also likened the educational system in Delhi to that in Assam, harshly condemning the state government’s decision.

“The AAP education model has destroyed Delhi’s education system, bringing down Class 10 pass% from 99.09% in 2011 to 81.27% in 2022,” Assam minister Piyush Hazarika stated in response to the Delhi chief minister’s comment on the move. In comparison to Puducherry, Delhi’s top model schools fall short in every way! To learn, Kejriwal ji should go to Assam. He added, “First off, schools in Assam are not closing; rather, they are amalgamating to enhance the overall educational environment.”

Secondly, he claimed, “respected CM Arvind Kejriwal ji have no rights to speak about educational upliftment since his bogus ‘Delhi Model Schools’ have been caught from time to time.”

Assam’s education minister Ranoj Pegu echoed the minister’s statement, saying “In Assam, schools are not being closed down but rather amalgamated or merged, depending on the school’s enrolment and distance.” According to him, this year saw the opening of 13 new English-medium Adarsha Vidyalayas and 97 new vernacular-medium Model Schools in Tea Garden districts by the Assam government. During the final two years of the COVID-19 period, Ranoj Pegu had previously told PTI that the state had seen a steady increase in the number of students enrolled in government institutions, primarily as a result of financial strain on the families.

A senior official reportedly stated, “A decision has been taken to close government-run schools that have a pass percentage of zero,” according to the Times of India story. However, because these students’ futures are important, they will have the opportunity to enrol in a local high school. The overall pass rate for Assam Class 10 was 56.49% this year. A 36.61% decrease from the 93.10% pass rate of the prior year.