UMERKOTE: A month after the lone primary school in Munigadihi under Kurabeda panchayat of Raighar block was closed as per government directive due to low student enrollment, villagers have demanded its reopening and threatened to boycott the panchayat elections if their grievance is not addressed. They submitted a memorandum in this regard to the district magistrate on Tuesday.
In 2019, the State government had ordered that schools with enrollment of 20 students or less (15 or less in Scheduled and KBK areas) would be closed and merged with nearby schools. The following year, the district education officer (DEO) of Nabarangpur had sent a proposal to the government regarding closure of the primary school at Munigadihi village in Kurabeda on grounds of not meeting the threshold enrollment.
The school was closed last month after the School and Mass Education department accepted the proposal.
Sources said, Munigadihi primary school had only two teachers since its establishment in 1974 and its student enrollment was below 20 when the proposal for its closure was sent. However, the school’s shutdown has not gone down well among the parents as students have now been instructed to go to Marangpali Primary School, about 2 kilometre from Munigadihi village.
Parents Debnath Kollar, Kailash Harijan, Purno Gond, Sangram Kollar and others voiced concerns about their wards commuting over four kilometres daily for classes. Questioning the move, villagers also claimed that the school had 21 students enrolled in the current year, which is higher than the benchmark set by the government and warned to boycott the elections if it is not reopened soon.
As per reports, 11 primary schools in Raighar block have been closed since 2019 due to poor enrollment. The students have been asked to enroll in nearby schools as per government directive. Contacted DEO Pradeep Nag said, the demand of the villagers has been sent to the government for reconsideration and the administration will accordingly act on it.