Recently, during the budget session in the Lok Sabha, a big question was raised regarding the closure of government schools. Congress MP from Bihar Dr Mohammad Javed and MP from Rajasthan Bhajan Lal Jatav asked Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, ‘Does the government know how many government schools have been closed or abolished across the country in the last five years? How many schools were closed state-wise and union territories? What were the reasons for closing these schools? It should also be told that how many children have left studies due to these closed schools?

MPs said this

Both the MPs said that due to closure of government schools, the education of children of poor and rural areas is being adversely affected. They wanted the government to give complete information on this and tell what steps are being taken in this direction.

Education Minister said this

While replying in the House, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that education comes in the concurrent list in the Constitution of India. This means that opening, closing or merging schools (rationalization) rests primarily in the hands of state governments and union territory administrations. The central government does not take direct decisions in this. He said that under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 (RTE Act), it is necessary to provide primary education (class 1 to 5) to every child near his home or in his neighbourhood. According to Section 6 of RTE, all the states have fixed the distance and standards of their neighborhood schools. Section 8 says that it is the duty of the state government to provide free and compulsory education to every child and to have a school.

Dharmendra Pradhan gave these figures

The Education Minister said that the government is concerned about the availability of schools and a lot of work has been done in this direction. He cited data from UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus). Let us tell you that UDISE+ is a reliable system for collecting school education data. According to this, access to schools in the country has improved significantly. It is measured by Gross Access Ratio (GAR). GAR means the percentage of villages or hamlets in an area that have school availability within the prescribed standards.

Such are the statistics of schools

• Primary Level (Class 1-5): It was 97.15% in 2018-19, which increased to 97.83% in 2024-25.
• Upper Primary Level (Class 6-8): 96.49% in 2018-19, 96.57% in 2024-25.
• Secondary Level (Class 9-10): It was 88.24% in 2018-19, which has increased to 95.35% in 2024-25.
• Higher Secondary Level (Class 11-12): In 2018-19 it was 65.05%. It will increase to 94.97% in 2024-25.

These figures show that access to schools is continuously improving at various levels. Besides, the dropout rate (school leaving rate) has also decreased.

Such decisions are made for children

Dharmendra Pradhan stressed that any school can be closed or merged only by following the rules of RTE Act. If a school is closed, it is ensured that the education of the children is not affected and they are sent to another nearby school. The central government provides assistance to the states under the Samagra Shiksha Yojana, so that schools are better, teachers are available and children do not leave school.

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Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has fiercely attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from the platform of India 2047 Youth Conclave organized by ABP Network on Tuesday (January 20, 2026). He has accused Mamata Banerjee of interfering in the recent ED raid on the office and house of I-PAC director Prateek Jain in Kolkata. He said that the agencies will do their work.

Regarding the ED raid in the I-PAC office, he said that we are against Mamata Banerjee’s politics. The people of West Bengal do not like violence and corruption at all. This has also been our issue and we are contesting elections on this also.

If first corruption and then corruption then how will things work – Union Minister

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, ‘Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list is a regular process of the Election Commission. At the same time, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s strategy is one of corruption. The agencies will do their work. How will it work if you commit corruption and then commit corruption?

Didi’s time is about to end- Dharmendra Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan further said that the time of Didi (Mamata Banerjee) in West Bengal is going to end very soon. There will be a new rise in the state under the leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Just waiting for the next two-three months.

He said that the people of West Bengal do not like corruption and violence at all. The people of Bengal are ready for change of power in the state. In Bengal where anarchy and corruption are prevalent. There, the vote bank of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has increased in the last 15 years.

Mamata Banerjee had interfered in the ED raid

It is noteworthy that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently conducted a raid at the office and house of Prateek Jain, director of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in a case related to the coal scam in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. At the same time, during the ED raid, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with senior police officers of the state reached Prateek Jain’s office and house and took away many files.

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The pace of development of the country’s well-known university Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) is going to intensify now. Jamia Vice Chancellor Prof. Mazhar Asif and Registrar Prof. Mohammad Mahatab Alam Rizvi met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In this important meeting, there was a detailed discussion about the future plans and new changes of the university.

The biggest thing in this meeting was that there was a strong discussion about opening a medical college in Jamia and starting new departments. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured all possible help in this direction and said that the government is with every positive effort of Jamia. He also talked about visiting Jamia soon.

Big achievement in dental faculty

During the meeting, the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar said that the dental faculty of Jamia has recently achieved a big achievement by launching the post graduation program. For this, the two officials thanked the two officials for the financial assistance received by the Ministry of Education. He said that the cooperation and encouragement of the Education Minister has been very important in furthering dental education.

Jamia’s coaching academy performance

During the meeting, there was also a discussion of Jamia’s Residential Coaching Academy (RCA). Vice Chancellor and Registrar said that every year more than 30 students achieve success in UPSC Civil Services Examination. This is the result of the education of Jamia and the hard work of the students.

Funding and development projects also discussed

Jamia officials also discussed the financial situation of the university with the Education Minister. A report on the status of the ongoing development projects under the Higher Education Financing Agency (HeFA) was also reported. However, concern was also expressed over the slow pace of these projects and the minister was appealed to cooperate in it.

Apart from this, proposals were also made regarding the establishment of new departments in Jamia. The Education Minister listened to all the proposals carefully and assured help in every necessary initiative.

Convocation also discussed

In the last part of the meeting, talks were also held on the convocation of Jamia. Which great sentiments can be invited as the chief guest in this, it was also considered. The Vice Chancellor and the Registrar also sought advice and support from the minister in this regard.

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