Congress' Pratibha Singh Asks HP Govt To Not Denotify Tribal Schools

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Sunday asked the state government ruled by her party to not go ahead with its decision to denotify 90 government schools in tribal areas.
     
In a statement issued, Singh said that former state Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had opened schools in the remote tribal areas with tough topography to provide education to students close to their homes.  
     
She said that the number of students in these schools could be less but it would not be right to denotify their location as they are in such areas as the snow-bound Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts and Pangi and Bharmour areas of Chamba district.  
     
Connectivity to these areas often gets snapped during the snow.
     
The Congress Chief who had returned from Lahaul and Spiti said that the people of the district urged her to keep the schools open and she is conveying their feelings.  
     
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday called the proposal "anti-people" and said that even after six months in office, the Congress government is continuing with its denotification of institutions opened for the welfare of the people.
     
He said some of these schools were functional for the past 2-3 years and are located in far-flung areas.  
     
The Himachal Pradesh government had on Saturday denotified 90 government middle, high, and senior secondary schools citing administrative reasons and low enrolment.  
     
The schools denotified comprised 20 middle schools with less than 15 students, 34 high schools with less than 20 students, and 36 senior-secondary schools with less than 25 students, according to a notification issued here.  
     
Earlier, 286 schools (primary and middle) with zero enrolments were de-notified.
     
Education Minister Rohit Thakur had then said primary schools with less than 10 students, middle schools with less than 15 students, senior secondary schools with less than 25 students, and colleges with less than 65 students will be shut down, he said.  
     
The ruling Congress party has maintained that hundreds of government institutions were opened at the fag end of the BJP government's tenure without budgetary provisions and required staff just to woo voters.