Maha promises impact study before shutting schools with low enrolment

Mumbai: More than two years after ordering the closure of schools with fewer than 20 students, the Maharashtra government has decided to conduct a three-month impact assessment to determine how such closures, mergers or restructuring would affect students’ access to education.The decision was taken at a meeting at Mantralaya on Thursday between the principal secretary of the school education department, Ranjitsinh Deol, and representatives of Shala Vachava, Shikshan Vachava (Save Schools, Save Education), a forum of students, teachers, and organisations working in the education sector in Maharashtra. The meeting was held against the backdrop of an indefinite sit-in protest by the forum at Azad Maidan, which began on October 5. The protesters are demanding the withdrawal of a March 2024 government resolution directing the closure of schools with fewer than 20 students, among other measures. According to the latest available data from 2025, the state has 14,251 such schools. “It is wrong to close any government or aided school just because the number of students is low,” said Sampat Desai, convenor of Shala Vachava, Shikshan Vachava. “Before closing, merging or restructuring a school, all these factors need to be considered.”