MP Congress Chief Questions Government on Closure and Merger of Schools

Bhopal, September 4 (Daily Kiran) : The Congress president of Madhya Pradesh, Jitu Patwari, has raised serious concerns regarding the closure and merger of 2,426 schools during the 2025-26 academic year. He directed his queries to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, questioning whether the shrinking network of schools is making education less accessible for children in rural and economically disadvantaged areas.

In a strongly worded letter, Patwari demanded detailed information about the closures, including district-wise, block-wise, and school-specific data. He urged the government to clarify how many schools were closed or merged under administrative orders.

Recent UDISE+ data reveals that Madhya Pradesh accounted for the highest number of closures in the country, with 2,426 out of 4,791 schools shut down or merged nationwide during this period. Patwari challenged the rationale behind reducing the number of schools at a time when the government touts increased spending on higher education and improved outcomes as achievements.

He questioned whether the government had assessed the additional distances children would need to travel after the mergers and if safe transportation arrangements, such as buses or bicycles, had been put in place.

Furthermore, Patwari sought clarity on dropout and enrollment statistics, requesting separate data on children not attending school, those who have dropped out, and students who transferred to other institutions not included in UDISE+. He pointed to the 13% dropout rate for grades 9-10 and requested explanations for the reasons behind it, along with data on students leaving the education system between grades 8 to 9 and 10 to 11.

The Congress leader also highlighted discrepancies between the enrollment figures on the state education portal and those reported by UDISE+, calling for accountability over any irregularities. He noted that while the number of schools in Madhya Pradesh decreased from 122,120 in 2024-25 to 119,694 in 2025-26, the number of teachers increased from 682,492 to 692,820.

Patwari demanded information on where these additional teachers were being deployed despite the reduction in school numbers. He also requested details on the usage of land, buildings, furniture, laboratories, and other properties associated with the closed or merged schools.

Tensions surrounding the education system in Madhya Pradesh continue to rise as these issues remain unaddressed.