Cluster schools to focus on holistic development of kids
To be formed with 4,000 small schools with less than 20 students
3 min read
At a recent meeting of the Maharashtra school education department, policy decisions on “cluster of schools” were discussed, however, a detailed plan is yet to be prepared on merging of schools. (Express Photo) With an aim to create an environment for holistic development of children, small schools with less than 20 students will be combined to form to cluster of schools in the state.
The education department has identified over 4,000 government schools with less than 20 students across Maharashtra. According to the data provided by the Commissionerate of Education, Maharashtra, approximately 50,000 students are studying in these schools where around 9,000 teachers are imparting education.
This number, according to the government, is huge in totality, but children studying in these schools are missing on holistic development.
Commissioner of education Maharashtra, Suraj Mandhare, said, “The purpose of going to school is not just study but also socialise with other children and become a responsible citizen. Schools with such small number of students do not provide any such opportunity to socialise. Additionally, they lack basic infrastructure facilities, too. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address this issue.”
Including teachers, facilities in government schools are linked to the number of students. The model of first cluster of schools created in Panshet by Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) will be emulated across the state.
Elaborating on the plan, Mandhare added, “In Pune district, the zilla parishad has carried out an experiment that can be treated as a role model. If original schools are far away from the cluster school, transport arrangement can be provided through government funds or a CSR partner or local resources.”
The Panshet cluster of schools combined 16 public schools located within a distance of 10 kilometres. A newly constructed building with required facilities accommodates 250 students of the cluster, where transport is also provided free of cost.
The school buildings will be vacated after the creation of cluster school and will be utilised for other government facilities. “If the building is good enough to house any other public facility such as an Anganwadi, that can be thought of,” said Mandhare.
The state government has been facing a serious flak after its decision to close the schools having less than 20 students. According to many, merging of schools would mean increase in the distance that students would have to commute, resulting in dropouts.
At a recent meeting of the Maharashtra school education department, policy decisions on “cluster of schools” were discussed, however, a detailed plan is yet to be prepared on merging of schools.
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