The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sparred on Friday over the closure of 450 government schools in Rajasthan, including 190 primary and 260 upper primary schools. Similar concerns have emerged from Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP-led government is reportedly considering the closure of over 27,000 government primary and junior schools, intensifying debates over the future of public education in India.
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of systematically weakening public education to favor private institutions.
“Closing government schools has long been the BJP’s policy. This year alone, 450 schools have been shut in Rajasthan, disproportionately targeting girls’ and English-medium institutions,” Dotasra alleged.
He claimed the BJP’s actions align with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) agenda to privatize education and deny marginalized communities access to learning opportunities.
Highlighting the Congress’s initiatives, Dotasra said, “During our tenure, we didn’t close a single girls’ school. Instead, we reopened over 1,500 Hindi-medium schools and established 367 Mahatma Gandhi English-medium schools to promote accessible education.”
Dotasra further accused the BJP of neglecting critical aspects of education, such as infrastructure upgrades, teacher appointments, and student welfare programs. He pointed out lapses in providing essentials like uniforms and awards for meritorious students, calling it a “deliberate push to undermine public education.”
BJP Refutes Claims
Responding to the allegations, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former state education minister Ghanshyam Tiwari dismissed the Congress’s claims as baseless. He clarified that the state government had not shut down schools but merely merged institutions with zero student enrollment to optimize resources and enhance educational outcomes.
“Only schools with no enrollment have been merged, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas,” Tiwari said, countering accusations of RSS or Vidya Bharati involvement.
He criticized Congress leaders for making “uninformed and misleading remarks” and accused them of politicizing the issue. “The Congress’s obsession with the RSS shows their ideological confusion,” Tiwari remarked.
Defending the BJP’s policy, Tiwari emphasized that consolidating schools with low or no enrollment is necessary to address declining student numbers and improve resource efficiency.
The debate over school closures has reignited larger questions on education policies in Rajasthan, with both parties trading barbs over their commitment to improving public education. As the state heads into an election year, education has become a flashpoint in the political discourse.
