Monday Musing
[ Bengia Ajum ]
In a landmark decision, the Education Department recently shut down 386 schools across the state due to zero student enrolment. This bold move likely faced significant resistance not only from the local communities but also from those with political interests.
The highest number of closures occurred in West Kameng district (73), followed by Papum Pare (50) and West Siang (31). Shutting down these schools was the right decision. With no students, they become burdensome. The maintenance funds are wasted, and teachers draw salaries without students to teach. Many of these schools were established under political pressure and served the interests of political workers rather than villagers.
The infrastructure of closed schools must not be abandoned, as doing so would represent a significant loss to the state exchequer. A comprehensive plan must be developed to use these facilities effectively.
Meanwhile, the closures must not harm the interests of the student communities. No child should suffer, and the Education Department must ensure that existing students remain unaffected. Moving forward, the focus must shift towards improving the quality of education and infrastructure in government schools.
Over the past decade, the department has also opened numerous government degree colleges and polytechnics, often without adequate planning. Some of these institutions now have low or zero enrolment. The next phase should involve a course correction by closing down underutilized degree colleges and polytechnics.
In urban centres like Itanagar and Pasighat, the demand for government degree colleges remains high. Iconic institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru College (Pasighat) and Dera Natung Government College (Itanagar) are overcrowded and struggle to accommodate students each admissions season. Even newer colleges, such as the Government Degree College Doimukh and Bini Yanga Women’s Degree College (Lekhi), all located within the vicinity of the Itanagar Capital Region, have failed to meet demand. There is an urgent need for another government degree college in Itanagar to alleviate the pressure on DNGC.
The Education Department could reallocate resources to establish new institutions in areas like Itanagar and Pasighat by closing down zero and low-enrollment colleges and polytechnics. The younger generation across the state aspires to pursue higher education in the state capital, fuelling immense demand at DNGC. On numerous occasions, political and student leaders have pressured DNGC authorities during admissions.
Education Minister PD Sona while talking to this daily informed that deputy commissioners and DDSEs have been authorized to determine how to repurpose the closed school infrastructure. He added that additional schools with low enrolment will be merged or shut down in the future. “We have just closed zero-enrolment schools. In the coming days, schools with low enrolment will be merged, and more schools will be closed,” Sona said.
