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Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
This school in Gujarat village has just one student, and two teachers
Bhurbhendi village in the tribal dominated Dang district of Gujarat has a population of around 200 residents. The village also has a three-roomed primary school run by the district panchayat. The main room of the school is accessed by a narrow pathway. Here, a student is seated on the floor, intently listening to the teacher, Dilip Patel, who is sitting on a chair. This child is the only student at this school, which, apart from Patel, has one more teacher. The village is situated on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra with most villagers working as farm labourers in different districts and talukas. The school, which imparts education from nursery (Bal Vatika) to Class 5 in Gujarati medium, used to be flooded with students earlier. However, with the parents of the students moving to other places for work, the student strength started trickling down over the years, reducing to only one student, who studies in Class 5, this academic year, said authorities. At present, both the teachers impart education to this lone student. On the other hand, there is a staff crunch of over 150 teachers in several government primary schools in Dang, said a source in the district primary education office. Dang district has a total of 377 government primary schools in different villages, with 39,000 students. There are 1,107 teachers serving in the primary section schools, from Class 1 to 5, and 508 in upper primary schools, from Class 6 to 8. 'Last year, there were five students – two in upper primary and three in lower primary. Two students shifted to the ashram school in Vaghai while two others had moved to other talukas. Presently, there is a single student, Krunal Bhoye. There are two teachers. We will have to transfer one of the teachers to a neighbouring village school,' District Primary Education Officer Vijay Deshmukh told The Indian Express. Deshmukh said the authorities had asked Mukesh Bhoye, Krunal's father, to get his son shifted to the neighbouring Nagarpada village school, around one-and-a-half kilometres away, but he refused. 'So, in this academic year, there is only one student in Bhurbhendi village school at present. For the last two years, there have been no new admissions in Balvatika. The school was built a long time ago. Earlier, a large number of students used to study here, but as time went by, people migrated to different talukas and districts, and the strength of students also went down,' said Deshmukh.
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
School pairing will benefit students: Govt
Lucknow: The state govt on Friday said that by pairing small, under-resourced schools with nearby institutions, it aims to provide students access to smart classes, ICT labs, sports, and peer learning. Pairing, officials said, will help improve the teacher-student ratio and upgrade infrastructure under all 19 Operation Kayakalp parameters — toilets, drinking water, furniture, digital education, Bal Vatika — and promote holistic development. They added that the model, however, remains flexible, with provisions to reopen original schools if enrolment grows. The govt initiated the pairing of schools to optimise teachers, resources, and infrastructure. For instance, UP has over 6,000 single-teacher schools, affecting the quality of teaching and student learning. Based on three key criteria — low enrolment, proximity, and lack of teachers or ramshackle buildings — the pairing will not take away jobs of teachers or cook-cum-helpers deployed in the state-run schools, said a govt spokesperson. The govt further said the initiative is in sync with the NEP, which recommends better-equipped institutions to enhance learning outcomes.
Hindustan Times
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
No merger of distant, well-enrolled schools: UP minister
In an apparent move to quell the ongoing opposition over school merger by political parties, teachers, students and parents, the Uttar Pradesh government has slightly softened its stand as basic education minister Sandeep Singh on Thursday clarified that government primary schools located more than one kilometre away from students' homes and those having 50 or more enrolled students will not be merged. UP basic education minister Sandeep Singh addressing a press conference in Lucknow on July 31. (Sourced) The move comes in the wake of concerns raised in some districts claiming that school mergers had forced children to travel long distances, making education less accessible. Corrective actions are now being taken on the basis of complaints received. In fact, it will be ensured that all those schools operate as before at the same places like they were functioning before school pairing was introduced. State basic education minister (independent charge) Sandeep Singh made this announcement at a press conference at Lok Bhavan. 'The complaints received from some districts have been taken seriously and where necessary, orders have been given to run the schools as before. The distance of any primary school to be paired will not be more than one kilometre,' he said. 'Pairing does not mean closure of any school nor any teaching or non- teaching post is being reduced or abolished,' the minister said. He further said the process of both pairing and unpairing of government primary and upper primary schools will be completed within a week and thereafter their number will be shared with the press. Singh said while pairing, full care has been taken to ensure that children's access to the school is simple, easy and safe. 'Schools whose geographical location, such as rivers, railway crossings or highways, could have hindered access, have not been included in this process. In case of any kind of discrepancy, immediate solution is being ensured,' he added. 'We have not permanently paired any school. If the number of students increases, arrangements will be made to run it again in the old building. UDISE code will remain the same. It is also our endeavour that no school should remain vacant till August 15. Pre-primary and Bal Vatika should be operated in all schools,' the minister said. Other states have also paired schools The minister said that Uttar Pradesh is not the only state which introduced pairing of schools. In 2014, Rajasthan paired about 20,000 schools, in 2018, Madhya Pradesh paired 26,000 and 16,000 schools in phased manner, in 2018-19, Odisha government also paired a number of schools, he added. Singh said: 'Pairing is a wonderful initiative towards connecting children with better learning environments and resources.' He said children do not get the real experience of education in schools with very low enrolment. Availability of teachers to be ensured Through pairing, availability of teachers for each class can be ensured. Teacher-student ratio will be better and teachers will get an opportunity to use the latest teaching techniques. Highlighting the benefits of pairing, he said schools with higher enrolment will get facilities like smart class, ICT lab, additional rooms, composite grant and sports material on priority basis. No post is being abolished The role of teachers and cooks will remain the same in this process. No post is being abolished. Rather, under this scheme, it is being ensured that where up to 50 students are enrolled, three teachers will be compulsorily deployed. In schools with more than 50 enrolments, teachers are being arranged as per the prescribed standards, the minister said. Previous govts flayed The minister said the previous government had brought the education system on a stretcher. 'But our government has made basic improvements in the field of education in the past years. So far, more than 1.26 lakh teachers have been appointed. Under Operation Kayakalp, 96% of council schools have been equipped with basic facilities. These reforms have also been accepted by the NITI Aayog as an exemplary model,' Singh said. 'Victory for PDA Pathshala' Reacting to the basic education minister Sandeep Singh's announcement, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said: 'Withdrawing the decision on school merger is a major victory for 'PDA Pathshala' movement. The right to education is inviolable and will remain so. This is a moral defeat for the education-opposing BJP.'
Hindustan Times
25-07-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Haryana approves ₹665 crore as mid-day meal scheme budget
The Haryana government has approved a budget of ₹665 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) Scheme, also known as mid-day meal scheme. A sum of ₹478 crore was spent to provide mid-meals to school children in Haryana in the financial year 2024-25. A sum of ₹ 478 crore was spent to provide mid-meals to school children in Haryana in the financial year 2024-25. (Getty Images) A state-level steering-cum-monitoring committee for the PM-POSHAN scheme met on Thursday under the chairmanship of chief secretary Anurag Rastogi to approve the budget for the 2025-26 financial year. Rastogi said the scheme aims to benefit more than 15 lakh children, including 80,862 in Bal Vatikas, about 8.28 lakh in primary, and about 6.38 lakh in upper primary schools by providing nutritious, protein-rich meals to every eligible child. He directed officials to adopt best practices from other states and incorporate menu improvements based on nutritional science and local dietary preferences. 'This scheme is not just about providing meals. It is a mission to ensure the universalisation of primary education by improving enrollment, retention, and attendance, while also enhancing children's nutritional status,' he said. An official spokesperson said that on a suggestion by the additional chief secretary, health, Sudhir Rajpal steps have been taken to plant green leafy vegetables like methi, palak, and sarson in 10,080 school kitchen gardens across the state. School education additional chief secretary Vineet Garg said to enhance the nutritional impact of the scheme, the department has recently signed an agreement with the world food programme for four districts—Mewat, Panipat, Sonepat and Palwal (only Hathin block). As part of enhanced nutritional support, 'pinni' is being distributed once a week in Bhiwani and Mewat as a supplementary food item. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini has also approved the department's proposal to serve 200 ml of skimmed flavoured milk six days a week, instead of the three days earlier. Pinnis will also now be distributed once a week across all districts. On two days a week, protein milk bars will also be provided to students from Bal Vatika to Class 8 in all government schools. District elementary education officers have been asked to get the quality of meals tested before they are served.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Govt ‘pairs' 10,827 schools, converts vacant buildings into ‘Bal Vatikas'
Lucknow: The state govt has so far paired 10,827 primary schools to address the challenge of thousands of small, under-enrolled schools that led to isolation for teachers and students, reduced peer learning opportunities and weakened school governance. Post pairing, these low-enrolment schools are being converted into Bal Vatika (anganwadi centre), in line with NEP 2020's emphasis on early childhood education. Under the pairing model, larger 'host' schools will receive students from 'guest' schools, enabling more structured academic routines, dedicated subject instruction and access to better said all the staff of the guest schools will initially move to the host schools. In case of surplus staff, a policy decision is yet to be made. A govt order issued by the principal secretary, integrated child development scheme (ICDS), B Chandrakala stated special emphasis was laid on pre-school education. For this, through Samagra Shiksha, the basic education department is working on creating resources and an environment for children of the age group 3 to 6 years in a planned manner. The order further read: "At present, all anganwadi centres located on the school premises have been declared as Bal Vatikas. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dukung Orang Terkasih Menghadapi Limfoma: Mulai Di Sini Limfoma Pelajari Undo In view of maximum use of resources, after pairing certain schools, it is expected that the vacant buildings will be used as Bal Vatika." DMs and education officials have been asked to check whether the centre is already being run in an additional room of the school or in a departmental building in the vacant school premises. In such a situation, the children of Bal Vatika in the vacant school will be able to use the basic facilities like drinking water, toilet and play area more easily. The directives further state that if the condition of the vacant school is not satisfactory or its distance from the nearest anganwadi centre is more, then the shifting process should not take place. For the shifting process, a five-member committee will be headed by the chief development officer.
