Bhubaneswar: Following the uproar which was created by opposition BJP and Congress over shutting down of over 14,000 schools in the state on grounds of low enrolment, government chief whip Pramila Mallik Sunday during the Winter Session of the Assembly said that the schools are being merged, not closed.
The motive of the state government is not to deprive anyone of education, she added.
However, deputy leader of Opposition Bishnu Charan Sethi in his reaction to Mallik’s statement said that the decision of the government will have serious consequences. “We will stage a sit-in near the podium of the Speaker until rollback of the decision,” he said.
Saturday, after a hot debate on custodial death cases, the House witnessed a noisy scene as Opposition members went to the well of the House demanding a discussion and concrete decision on government’s plan to close down over 14,000 schools functioning across the state.
Senior Congress legislator Narasingha Mishra first raised the issue which was supported by BJP members.
Stating that education is a fundamental right for everyone, Mishra urged Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro to direct the government to take necessary steps in this regard.
Leader of Opposition Pradipta Naik requested the Speaker to suspend all businesses of the day and convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. The School and Mass Education minister and department secretary should be asked to present details on the issue, he said.
Another senior Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said the decision of the government to close down over 14,000 schools shows that there’s ‘British Raj’ in the state.
“If the schools will be closed down, where will the students of hilly areas like Koraput go? The decision should be rolled back otherwise KBK region will strongly protest it and government will be responsible for it,” he added.
In the house, Bahinipati also said: “I will commit suicide if schools are not opened”.
School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said Sunday the government’s intention is not to harass the students by closing down schools. The government is committed to provide quality education, he added.
PNN