8,066 schools closed or merged in 7 years in Assam

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: In the past seven years in Assam, more than 8,066 elementary schools have either been closed down or merged with nearby schools, as per a policy decision taken by the state government.

According to the school education department, the number of elementary schools in the state in 2016 was 47,818, where a total of 37,39,934 students studied. Of the total number of schools, the number of lower primary (LP) schools was 39,986, and the total number of students in these schools was 28,46,663. The number of Upper Primary (UP) schools was 7,832, with 8,93,271 students enrolled in them.

As of 2023, the number of elementary schools has come down to 39,752, and the number of students at present is 30,05,020. The number of LP schools is 33,937, and the number of students enrolled in these schools is 21,863,733. In the case of UP schools, the number is now 5,815, with 8, 18,647 students studying in them.

From the available data, it is evident that the number of schools has decreased by 8,066. These schools have either been closed down or merged with others. 6,335 schools have been shut down permanently, while 1,731 schools have been merged.

Of the 8,066 schools that have disappeared from the map, the number of LP schools is pegged at 6,032, and that of UP schools is placed at 2,034.

The districts that have the highest number of schools closed down are; 557 in Lakhimpur, 469 in Barpeta, 460 in Jorhat, 417 in Cachar, 408 in Dhubri, 405 in Kamrup, 358 in Nagaon, 352 in Dibrugarh, 347 in Sivasagar, 343 in Golaghat, and 150 in Kamrup (Metro), among others.

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