Come June 16, as many as 260 schools in Chhattisgarh which have been shut due to Maoist violence for the past 15 years, will reopen their gates and classrooms to welcome students!
These schools are located in the Dantewada, Sukma, Narayanpur and Bijapur districts.
Announcing this in an official statement, the State Government said that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will make the formal announcement of these schools reopening during the Shala Pravesh Utsav (school admission fest) scheduled for June 16.
Government schools numbering 400 were forced to close down 15 years ago due to the Naxal insurgency in Bastar.
Talking about this move, Alok Shukla, Chhattisgarh’s Education Secretary said: “These schools were closed because of one problem or the other related to Maoism. We are now planning to reopen them as the government has been able to deal with the Maoist problem in these areas. Teachers have been posted to these schools. The exact number of students can only be ascertained only after schools reopen, but it will be between 20 and 50 students in one school.”
While the authorities have been asked to ensure that teachers are present in these schools from day one, the local administration of these districts have been asked to make sure that there is full admission and attendance of children in primary and pre-primary classes.
