M A I N   N E W S

Axe to fall on 95 pc primary schools
HP proposal may hit tribal areas
From Kishori Lal

MANDI, Jan 24 — More than 95 per cent schools in the tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh will be closed if the government implemented its proposal to close down all primary schools where the number of pupils was 20 or less.

The axe would fall on the primary schools located in the tribal areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi, Kinnaur and the backward areas of Mandi, Kandi, Kangra, Chamba and Kulu districts.

In some pockets all schools would be closed if the proposal is executed. There are 10,633 primary schools in the state.

When asked how many primary schools were being closed the Deputy Director of Primary Education said the details of such schools were likely to be collected within a week. The Director of Primary Education could not be contacted as he was away on tour.

According to figures compiled here, as many as 184 primary schools in Mandi district would be closed if the government went ahead to enforce its decision.

A survey conducted in 20 education blocks reveals that the identified 184 schools are located in remote and most backward parts of the district where the number of pupils in a school is 20 or less and people are reeling under appalling poverty.

In Darang constituency alone 35 primary schools falling in three education blocks would face closure if the proposal of the Dhumal government is put into practice.

More of these 35 schools in Darang segment are located in the backward Chuhar valley which the government has itself identified as “most backward area” and included in the backward area development plan. The proposal will hit the poor.

The proposal would also hit Sundernagar subdivision where the axe would fall on 14 primary schools in difficult area where road or bus facility was not available.

Similarly, in the Dharampur area 34 schools falling in two education blocks would be the victim of the proposal. The most dismaying part of the proposal is that it would deprive the poor of even primary education.