In a huge revelation, Education Minister Taba Tedir on Tuesday informed the media that 379 schools with zero enrolment in the state have been closed and their assets handed over to the deputy commissioners concerned. Now the DCs will decide what to do with these schools. The closing of 379 government-run schools due to non-enrolment of students is a piece of worrying news. Most of these schools have been constructed in rural areas. The zero enrolment leading to the closure of the schools is a cause for concern. Also, it is a massive loss of the state exchequer.
Public money has been used for setting up the infrastructure. Simply closing the schools won’t solve the problem. The education department should conduct a proper inquiry as to how these schools failed to get students enrolled. Was it constructed only to benefit contractors? All these need to be thoroughly investigated. Now that the schools have been closed and assets handed over to the deputy commissioners, proper plan should be made to use them. The buildings should not remain unused for long. They should be brought into use as soon as possible. If they are of no use to any of the government departments, the DCs should explore the possibility of leasing them to NGOs or private schools for use. Further, the state government should learn a lesson from this episode. In the future, government infrastructure should be established after a lot of planning and research. Random construction of infrastructure without any research and plan is wastage of public money.