MP Congress chief questions govt over closure, merger of 2,426 schools in state

Bhopal, Sep 4 (AHN) Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on Friday questioned the Mohan Yadav government over the closure and merger of 2,426 schools in the state during 2025-26, asking whether the shrinking school network was making education less accessible to children in rural and economically weaker areas.

In a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Patwari sought district-wise, block-wise and school-wise details of the 2,426 schools and asked the government to clarify how many were closed, merged or discontinued through administrative orders.

The latest UDISE+ data shows that Madhya Pradesh accounted for 2,426 of the 4,791 schools that closed or were merged across the country in 2025-26, the highest number among states.

Patwari questioned the rationale behind reducing the number of schools at a time when the government was highlighting higher education spending, improved results and new schemes as achievements. He asked whether the government had assessed the additional distance children would have to travel after their schools were merged and whether transport, bicycles, buses or other safe commuting arrangements had been provided.

The Congress leader also raised questions over school dropout and enrolment data, seeking separate figures for out-of-school children, dropouts, students who shifted to other schools and those not captured in UDISE+.

Referring to UDISE+ data, Patwari asked the government to explain the reasons behind the 13 per cent dropout rate for Classes 9-10 and sought details of children leaving the education system during the transition from Classes 8 to 9 and 10 to 11.

He also questioned the disparity between the state education portal and UDISE+ enrolment figures and sought accountability for any discrepancies. Patwari pointed out that the number of schools in Madhya Pradesh declined from 1,22,120 in 2024-25 to 1,19,694 in 2025-26, while the number of teachers increased from 6,82,492 to 6,92,820. He sought details of where the additional teachers had been deployed despite the reduction in the number of schools.

The Congress leader also demanded details of the utilisation of land, buildings, furniture, laboratories and other assets of schools that were closed or merged.