Lucknow: For eight-year-old Amit, a Class 2 student at a government primary school in Kakori block on the outskirts of Lucknow, mornings meant a short sprint to school. It was just 200 metres away from home.
This morning schedule is now set to change, courtesy to Uttar Pradesh government's recent decision to pair schools. Amit's school, like many others, are set to be merged with another school in a neighbouring village two kilometres away.
That's a bit far for a dash, Amit admits.
"Now my father will have to take me to school on his bicycle. The problem is that he is not always free," he says.
A sweeping initiative was undertaken by the state government to "pair" schools with low enrolment, aimed at pooling resources, improving infrastructure, and aligning with the goals of the National Education Policy 2020.
The policy recently upheld by the Allahabad High Court, has set in motion the pairing of over 10,000 of the 1.3 lakh government-run primary schools across the state, officials estimate.
The essence of the pairing exercise lies in merging schools with fewer than 50 students into nearby institutions to create a more robust learning environment.
Statement Of The Additional Chief Secretary Of Basic Education
"The core idea is to consolidate teaching staff, infrastructure and other educational resources," Deepak Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of Basic Education, told PTI. "This includes better use of school buildings, smart class technology and materials. It is about creating a richer, more effective academic space for children." States like Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat have already undertaken similar reforms, and Uttar Pradesh officials say they are following proven models.
Kumar calls the exercise "a transformative structural reform" aimed at revitalising a scattered rural education network. "Smaller schools often meant isolation for students and teachers alike. With pairing, we aim to bring in peer learning, better governance, and a renewed focus on quality education," he added.
The move comes amidst a drop in enrolment numbers in government primary and upper primary schools across the state since the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2022-23, enrolments in schools under the Basic Shiksha Parishad reached an all-time high of 1.92 crore. However, this figure dropped to 1.68 crore in 2023-24 and fell further to 1.48 crore in 2024-25.
In the ongoing 2025-26 session, the enrolment figure hovers around just 1 crore.
According to education department officials, in schools where the level of enrolment and attendance are less, there are high chances that students might drop out in the middle of an academic session or when the session ends.
With the pairing exercise, the number of students in a classroom will increase. This, coupled with added resources, will not only reduce the number of dropouts but also assist in improving school enrolments, officials claim.
In a recent judgment, the Allahabad High Court dismissed multiple writ petitions that challenged the government orders dated June 16 and 24, 2025.
The petitioners had claimed that the pairing would make children walk more than a kilometre to school, in alleged violation of the Article 21A of the Constitution and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009.
However, the court noted that the RTE Act allows flexibility in implementing "neighbourhood schools" and found no evidence of state failure. It ruled that the students' constitutional and legal rights remained intact.
Despite the policy's judicial approval, the response on the ground is far from unanimous.
"My children's school used to be a five-minute walk. With this merger, they may now have to cross fields and take two buses," said Ritu Devi, a mother of two and a daily wager in rural Sitapur. "Who will ensure their safety? Who will drop them to school and bring them back every day?" Suresh Singh, a farmer, worry about what lies ahead. "Merged schools are overcrowded. Teachers are already stretched. I don't think our children will get the kind of attention they used to get in the village school." However, some express hope. "With the pairing of schools, our children will get more teachers and facilities. This will surely improve the quality of education," said Devatram Verma, a father of two children whose primary school has not been paired.
Teachers too are wary. In rural areas, enrolment often depends on the teachers' personal outreach.
"In villages, we go door to door, asking families to send their children to school instead of taking them to the fields," said a female teacher from a government school in Rae Bareli, requesting anonymity. "But once the schools are far away, that connection is lost. I fear several children will simply drop out." A teacher in Sitapur echoed the concern. "Villagers are asking how their kids will travel 3 kilometres or more. They have no means. Many say they will pull their kids out or shift them to private schools." Dissent is brewing within the teaching community as well.
Dinesh Chandra Sharma, an office-bearer of the Uttar Pradesh Primary Teachers' Association, called the move "a disguised closure of government schools." "On one hand, the government is giving permissions to new private schools. On the other, it is shutting down small public schools that serve the rural, underprivileged populations. This will damage the futures of both the students and teachers," Sharma told PTI.
The association fears that the policy will lead to large-scale teacher transfers or even job cuts. "We suspect the government will reduce staff in the name of efficiency and stop new hiring altogether," Sharma added.
The initiative has also drawn sharp criticism from major opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Indian National Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has labelled the policy a "deep-rooted conspiracy" to deprive future generations, particularly from backward, Dalit and minority communities (PDA), of their right to education. He alleged that the BJP government is deliberately weakening public education to foster an "uneducated, superstitious and unscientific" populace.
A provocative poster outside the Samajwadi Party headquarters echoed this sentiment: "What kind of Ram Rajya is this? Close the schools. Open the liquor shops." Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has branded the move "unjust, unnecessary and anti-poor" stating it undermines accessible government education to millions. She warned of increased dropout rates, especially for girls, due to longer travel distances, and vowed to reverse the policy if the BSP returns to power.
State Congress chief Ajay Rai has written to the Governor demanding an immediate halt, asserting that the mergers are a disguised attempt to close schools, harming rural and economically weaker students. The Congress also suspects a broader plan to privatise the education sector.
Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP and state in-charge Sanjay Singh has launched a 'Save School' campaign, accusing the government of planning to close numerous schools (reportedly around 27,000) while opening liquor stores. "We need schools, not liquor stores," he said, affirming the AAP's intent to challenge the mergers in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, officials remain optimistic, stressing that once the initial discomfort subsides, students will benefit from better facilities, larger peer groups, and more dynamic learning.
But for families like Amit's, the policy is less about reform and more about everyday reality. "It is not possible for me to take my son to school everyday as I have to go looking for work or go to the fields. I don't know for how long I will be able to take him to school," said Amit's father.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
