india

Updated: Jun 22, 2019 22:46 IST

The Odisha government will shut down 966 primary schools with less than 10 students on its rolls, school and mass education minister Sameer Das said on Saturday.

Das said the schools which will be shut down for having less than 10 students will be shifted to another school within 1 km. Those students will be paid travel allowance to cover their travel expense including transportation and escort. Many of the schools are in tribal areas of KBK districts.

Students with more than 75 per cent attendance will be paid Rs 600 per month while those with 50 to 74 per cent attendance will get Rs 400 per month. Similarly, students with 30 to 49 per cent attendance will get Rs 300 per month while students with less than 30 per cent attendance will not get anything.

In Odisha, there are 35,928 primary schools to provide education at the elementary level.

Last year, the state government had decided to close down more than 1,160 schools for having 10 or fewer students. However it decided on reopening those schools irrespective of the number of students enrolled.