PANJIM: Due to falling numbers, the Ministry of Human Resource Department (MHRD) has directed the Directorate of Education (DoE) to merge primary schools across Goa having less than 10 students.

State officials hope that merging two or more low enrolment neighbourhood schools will provide government primary schools with more than one teacher, easing the single teacher school problem.

The decision was taken at the review meeting of Western Zone of MHRD on October 13 at Jaipur with State heads of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Daman and Diu wherein it was decided that schools having less students should be merged into one.

“These points had come up at the western zone meeting wherein it was said to merge primary schools in Goa which has student enrolment of less than 10 students. MHRD has not given any time frame but Goa has replied that it will try to merge primary schools. Another issue which had come up for the meeting was that 0.24 percent of the schools in Goa were not affiliated to any board and that Education Department will try affiliating it a university or board,” sources said.

“The number of such low enrolment schools is going up, due to competition from neighbourhood private management run government aided schools,” sources confirmed. 

Goa has 130 odd schools with low enrolment. A scheme to amalgamate such schools was introduced by the government some 2-3 years ago but with stiff opposition from parents, the Education Department had to withhold it.