Primary, upper primary schools: ‘Government's merger, pairing plan in sync with NEP'
The state government is hopeful that their counsel has presented the government's side well before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court that has reserved the judgment for Monday.
'If we start the proposed pre-nursery or kindergarten schools for children before the age of 6, our students will be better prepared when they go to class 1,' an official said.
Defending its decision, a senior official on Saturday clarified that only the policy of pairing is being implemented and not to close schools. This policy is in sync with the National Education Policy where one school is being designated for pre-primary and the other school for primary / upper primary school, the official added.
Small schools are being linked with larger units. The schools, in which the enrolment of students is very low and where there are operational difficulties, are being linked with nearby big schools, an official said on condition of anonymity.
The official argued that in several UP government schools where enrolment is relatively low, the education system can be made more effective and student-centric by proper and shared use of available physical and educational resources such as school buildings, classrooms, ICT equipment and various educational materials .
A single-judge bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia reserved the order on Friday evening after the state government presented its viewpoint, justifying the merger of schools. The government counsel apprised the court about such primary schools that have zero students. They also informed the court about primary schools where the strength of students was less than 15.
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