WEBDESK: The Modi-led BJP government has once again shown its anti-education stance by ordering the closure of thousands of government schools across several Indian states, leaving the future of millions of poor children hanging in the balance.
According to Indian media reports, the decision is having a devastating impact, particularly in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP government has ordered the closure of over 5,000 government schools. These schools cater to children up to the eighth grade, and their sudden shutdown has left many families worried about their children’s basic right to education.
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This move has sparked outrage among education experts, opposition parties, and human rights groups, who argue that the decision is nothing less than playing with the future of India’s poorest and most marginalised communities.
While the BJP claims that these closures are aimed at improving the “quality of education,” critics believe this is a cruel attempt to deprive underprivileged children of learning opportunities. Opposition leaders have described it as a direct attack on the fundamental rights of poor children.
Leading Indian news outlet NDTV reported that opposition parties have called on the government to reverse this decision immediately. They have warned that if the ruling BJP refuses to do so, they will take the matter to the courts.
The picture is no different in the state of Jharkhand as 5000 rural schools have been closed down here impacting thousands of children belonging to the Dalit community. Times of India had earlier reported in November 2024, that the government led by Yogi Adityanath was planning to shut down nearly 27,000 schools.
These militant measures have once again demonstrated an imbalance to the priorities of the Modi government that are more defined to the elite of India but has further pulled poor and backward communities to the peripheries. India, a nation that boasts of being called as the largest democracy in the world, is emerging as a cemetery of the rights of the poor.
