J&K SED declares merged schools officially closed in latest UDISE-2023 data

Srinagar, Oct 24: In a significant move aimed at bringing transparency and accuracy in the education sector of Jammu and Kashmir, the School Education Department (SED) has officially declared the clubbed or merged schools as “closed schools” in the latest UDISE-2023 data, set to be submitted to the Government of India (GoI).

This decision is intended to put an end to the misleading practice of presenting non-functional schools as separate institutions, which was prevailing in the region.

Over the years, the Jammu and Kashmir government merged over 2400 government schools with the majority of them being established under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme.

However, despite the merger, these schools continued to be listed as separate institutions in the UDISE data over the years.

“This practice was primarily employed to secure school grants from the Ministry of Education (MoE) under the erstwhile SSA scheme and now Samagra Shiksha,” an official said.

These schools were clubbed with nearby institutions for having either zero or minimal student enrollment.

The J&K government had merged approximately 2400 schools in recent years as part of an effort to rationalise student enrollment in schools and efficiently utilise surplus teachers in schools facing teacher shortages.

An official said that in the latest UDISE data-2023, these merged schools would no longer be represented as separate entities.

Instead, they would be accurately classified as officially closed schools.

“We used to show them as separate schools to secure school grants from the Ministry of Education and other financial assistance. These schools were not documented as closed,” the official said.

He said that this year, the Administrative Department had opted to rectify this practice by classifying these schools as closed to ensure data accuracy.

“Certain grants are allocated based on student enrollment, such as funding for uniforms, textbooks, and resources for out-of-school children,” the official said. “By classifying them as closed schools, the data will be honest, and there will be no hidden figures. This will enable the Government of India to allocate funds appropriately.”

However, the official disclosed that during the previous years, DDOs would produce utilisation certificates for grants received for the clubbed schools, which would not be possible from the current session.

“The shift will provide precise data on schools to the Ministry of Education,” the official said.

Project Director of J&K Samagra Shiksha, Deep Raj, confirmed the alteration in the UDISE-2023 data, emphasising that funding was now based on student enrollment within a specific school rather than the number of schools.

“The number of students remains consistent even after the merger of schools,” he said.

Raj said that the department no longer operates these merged schools and does not utilise the building so there was no reason to receive grants for these schools.

“These buildings have been handed over to Panchayats to put them to good use. So we do not need their funding,” he said.

The merger of over 2000 schools in J&K since 2015 left over 800 school buildings unused.

“The decision to classify these schools as officially closed is a significant step toward accountability which will ensure that funds are allocated accurately and transparently,” an official said.