Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced plans to establish a boarding school in Spiti, located in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, ensuring that no child in the region would be deprived of education. This statement was made during a state assembly session on Tuesday, where Sukhu intervened during the reply to a calling attention motion.
He emphasized that the government is committed to bringing reforms to improve the quality of education, as the state’s ranking had recently dropped to the 18th position. Sukhu also suggested that the government could consider relocating students to district headquarters and would cover their expenses to ensure equal access to education for all children.
The discussion arose in response to a motion raised by Congress MLA Anuradha Rana, questioning the merger of schools with low student numbers in the challenging topography of Lahaul and Spiti. Education Minister Rohit Thakur defended the decision, noting that the merger of under-enrolled schools is a nationwide initiative. Across India, 76,000 schools have been merged due to declining enrolment, including in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Thakur highlighted the situation in Lahaul and Spiti, where 12 primary schools and one middle school were merged due to low enrolment. For instance, Senior Secondary School Hansa had only two students but eight teachers. Currently, 750 teachers serve 2,100 students in the district.
However, Thakur assured that the government would reconsider school mergers in Lahaul and Spiti, taking into account the region’s harsh geographical conditions.
