Odisha govt move may close down 14,339 primary schools, spike dropout rate

By A Representative

Education activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) across Odisha have opposed the state government’s move to close schools with low student strength as it will increase dropouts among children, especially in the tribal and backward regions of the state, where children mostly depend on government schools for their education. Due to the government's move, around 14,339 primary and upper primary schools in the state will face imminent closure.
Activists have urged the government to rethink on it, as it will have a high bearing on the public education system of the state. According to them, it violates the spirit of ensuring free and compulsory elementary education to all children as per the Right to Education Act 2009.
Naba Kishor Pujari, an education rights activist and a member of Right to Education (RTE) Forum, said, “Schools are being closed administratively without much publicizing it. The school closer/merger policy is also a clear violation of Section 3 and 8 of the RTE Act which guarantee free and compulsory education to every child and also ensures that the child belonging to weaker sections and the child belonging to the disadvantaged group are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds”.
“Unfortunately, the state government which is arguing that schools are being closed in the effort to impart the quality of education, is a myth as there is no evidence that support the logic. Rather, it will have a life-long impact on the education of children and especially from the tribal, Dalit and other marginalized communities”, Pujari added.

School closure move has been initiated under Niti Aayog's Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education project

Another activist, Anil Pradhan, convener, Odisha RTE Forum, said, “Majority of the schools closed citing the rationalization tag, are from tribal and backward regions such as Rayagada, Mayurbhanj, Kandhamal and Koraput. Tribal habitations generally have small hamlets spread across the village separated by natural barriers. Closure of schools without adhering neighbourhood norm will further increase the distance between habitation and the schools.”

“Anecdotal evidence shows that children, especially at the primary level, find it difficult to walk a longer distance and tend to be absent from the school regularly. With the school far away from their village, parents often hesitate to send off their kids the neighbourhood school as they find it difficult to keep a tab on them”, Pradhan added.
Recently, the Odisha RTE Forum sent a letter to chief minister Naveen Pattnaik urging him to reconsider the school closer policy as this will leave education of marginalised children in the lurch. According to the he school and mass education department, 6,340 schools will be permanently closed where the enrolment of children is below 20. Another 5,177 primary schools will face closer where children’s attendance remains below 40, the report said.
The state RTE Forum alleged that the school closure move has been initiated by the Niti Ayog under its ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education (SATH-E)’ project, which is being implemented by the Odisha government. The National Sample Survey Organization’s 2017-18 household survey has revealed that the out-of-school children number in India (6-17 years) was 32.2 million, which is expected to doubled in a year. The World Bank recently warned that pandemic-induced school shut down would cost India over $400 billion.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi).

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog