‘No school will be shut under mapping exercise’

Those needing additional infrastructure will be identified and developed, says Suresh

Education Minister A. Suresh on Saturday said that students, their parents, and all other stakeholders should understand that the ongoing exercise of mapping the government schools would only change the location of the schools for the students. “It will not lead to closure of any school,” he reiterated.

Speaking at the valedictory of the Orientation for MLAs, MLCs and others on the mapping of schools, the Minister said that “no school will disappear.” “The existing schools will only change their form into Foundation Schools, Foundation Plus, High Schools, and High Schools Plus,” he added.

Mr. Suresh said the three-day meeting, meant to spread awareness on the school restructuring programme, was attended by people’s elected representatives and officials of various districts. Besides, the officials would visit the districts and organise similar sessions, he added.

The students and their parents had started showing interest in the government schools, thanks to the series of reforms introduced by the government, the Minister said, informing that during the mapping exercise, the schools that needed additional classrooms and other infrastructure would be identified and developed under the Nadu-Nedu programme.

The Minister said the government was not ready to compromise on the education of children as their future depended on it. Despite the COVID-19 challenge, the schools continued to function. The neighbouring States that had closed their educational institutions had started reopening them now, he pointed out. “We are worried about the children’s health as well as their future,” he said.

‘Rethink on Urdu schools’

Deputy Chief Minister Amzad Basha said the suggestions of the elected representatives should be taken into consideration while mapping the Urdu schools, which were only few in number. The government could also rethink on mapping the Urdu schools, he said.

Special Chief Secretary (School Education) B. Rajasekhar, Commissioner Suresh Kumar, Samagra Shiksha State Project Director Vetri Selvi, Adviser (Infrastructure) Murali, SCERT Director Pratap Reddy, Joint Director M. Ramalingam, and Municipal Commissioners were present.