Pairing of schools is not permanent, says minister

Time of India

6 days ago

Lucknow: Emphasizing that the state govt was absolutely flexible in its approach while implementing the pairing of primary govt schools, basic education minister
Sandeep Singh
said here on Thursday that 'no school has been permanently paired'.
Addressing a press conference, he said that student interest was paramount, pointing out that complaints from certain districts regarding the initiative have been taken seriously, and necessary action taken, including restoring operations in certain schools where required. He also stated that the distance between paired schools will not exceed one kilometre and schools in geographically challenging areas have been excluded from the process.
"If student numbers rise or seating becomes inadequate, classes will resume in the original buildings, with UDISE codes remaining unchanged," he added, accusing the opposition, especially the Samajwadi Party of politicising the issue. The minister stated that the merger aimed at enhancing the quality of education and won't cause inconvenience to students. He added that around 10,000 schools had been identified for pairing, and this process, along with the unpairing of schools where necessary, would be completed within the coming week.
Singh said schools with fewer than 50 students were being considered for the merger. However, in case there are complaints of students facing problems in commuting to paired schools situated over a kilometre away from each other, then such instances will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and a decision would be taken.
Addressing concerns over job security, Singh said that there would be no job cuts or shutting of schools.
"All 132,886 govt-run primary schools in the state would continue to operate and retain their valid UDISE codes. All sanctioned posts will remain intact, including those of the headmaster. If needed, we will appoint new teachers to maintain the required pupil-teacher ratio," he stated.
Singh further explained that the merger process would be completed within a week, adding that the buildings of schools vacated through mergers would be run as bal vatikas.
"As per the national mandate, admission to Class 1 begins at the age of six. So, to cater to pre-primary needs, these bal vatikas will be operational by August 15," he said. He clarified that the state govt had never halted recruitment and remained committed to meeting educational standards.
"We are following norms — one teacher per 30 students in pre-primary and one per 35 in upper primary schools. Every merged school will have three teachers, two assistant teachers, and one shiksha mitra to ensure seamless academic activities," Singh added.
Criticising Samajwadi Party for politicising the issue, Singh said: "Before 2017, government schools lacked even basic infrastructure. Under Operation Kayakalp, we equipped 96% of schools with essentials like drinking water, toilets, and midday meals with an expenditure of over Rs 11,500 crore." Highlighting recent achievements, the minister stated, "in the academic session 2025–26 alone, we enrolled 27.53 lakh new students.
"The government is fully committed to enhancing the future of children through quality education," Singh said, pointing out that the pairing model had already been adopted in other states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and was implementing it by carefully studying every aspect.