New Delhi: Over 2,900 government schools in Assam have been merged or amalgamated with nearby institutions for optimum utilisation of resources in the last five years, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary, responding in writing to a question on the number of primary and secondary schools closed in Assam in the past five years, said 2,774 elementary schools and 206 secondary schools were merged during the period.

“No government or provincialised primary, middle, high or higher secondary school has been closed till date in Assam. However, schools have been merged or amalgamated under the Shiksha Khetra Scheme where there is non-sustainable enrolment or where schools are located on the same campus,” he said.

The minister added that the restructuring aims to optimise available resources and bring institutions under a single administrative and academic unit in accordance with the Right to Education Act, 2009.

“Schools are rationalised within the distance norms for optimum utilisation of teachers and to reduce dropout rates. No student has been deprived of education after merger or amalgamation, and it is ensured that no student faces difficulty in accessing schooling as institutions remain available within RTE norms,” Chaudhary said.