Himachal shuts 1,200 schools in 2.5 years due to low or zero enrolment

Over the past two and a half years, the Himachal Pradesh government has shut down 1,200 schools, according to Education Minister Rohit Thakur.

Of these, 450 were closed due to having zero enrolment, while the remaining were merged because of low student numbers.

Thakur said the government is making key decisions to improve the education department, including the possibility of further mergers and reorganizations where required.

“A parameter of merging schools, if enrolment is less than 25 from Class 6 to 12, has been kept,” he said, adding that around 100 schools with zero enrolment are also set to be denotified.

He noted that 778 part-time water carriers who had completed 11 years of service (including time as daily wagers) as of March 31 have been regularized against vacant Class 4 positions.

“The state government fulfilled the long-pending demands of the employees,” Thakur said in an official statement.

To address staffing shortages, the government has sanctioned 15,000 new teaching posts, including 3,900 in primary education.

Another 3,100 positions will soon be filled through the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog.

He said that the services of more than 200 acting principals have been regularized, while 483 assistant professors have been recruited in the higher education department.

Additionally, 700 lecturers have been appointed over the past two and a half years, compared to 511 during the previous BJP government's five-year term.

Thakur said the previous BJP-led government had stalled recruitment in the education sector, while the current administration is taking active steps to strengthen it by filling vacancies.

He also mentioned that 6,200 nursery teachers are being appointed to reinforce pre-primary education.

According to the 'Annual Status of Education Report' released in January 2025, students in Himachal Pradesh’s government schools ranked among the best in the country for reading skills.

The report rated Himachal as the top-performing state in school education across several key indicators.