Kerala’s School Rationalisation A Bold Move for Quality Education or a Burden on Teachers? | Opinion

By Christina VJ and Dr Aditya Kumar

Thiruvananthapuram: The policy of school consolidation and rationalisation in Kerala has sparked a lively debate: does it truly ensure quality education through better use of resources, or does it create new challenges for teachers and students? In simple terms, rationalisation aims to make schools more efficient while ensuring children’s access to quality education. The idea looks simple, but it is not free from challenges. Rationalisation of schools is a participatory process carried out within the framework of the Right to Education Act (RTE). Depending on local needs, the process may lead to opening new schools, maintaining existing ones, merging small schools, or relocating them. The key objectives are to provide every child access to a fully functional neighbourhood school with adequate teachers, infrastructure, and resources, make schools compliant with RTE norms, reallocate staff and resources where required, consolidate resources in the best interest of children, and minimise underutilization and wastage.

If we look back to the early years of the 2000s, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was launched in 2001 to universalise elementary education. The program’s objective was to make the schools available within walking distance for every child. Another education program launched in 2008 and enacted as the Right to Education Act (2009) also carried forward the vision of SSA and mandated the availability of schools for classes 1 to 5 after every kilometre and within 3 kilometres for classes 6 to 8. When these programs came, due to poor technology and the unavailability of GIS mapping led to schools in the overlapping areas. This overlap happened as the land for the schools had to come from the local community’s contribution. Schools were opened in areas where there was no demand for public schools. As a result, states are now experiencing surplus schools with low enrolment, which is creating a burden on the state governments in terms of providing resources, monitoring, and ensuring the teaching-learning process.

In 2013-14, Rajasthan had 86,324 government schools for 39000 revenue villages in many places, it exceeded the RTE norms, and the state found that 23,013 UPS with less than 30 enrolment and 142 PS with zero enrolment, so the state took the initiative of integrating of schools and establishing model schools. In 2014-15, Andhra Pradesh analysed the U-DISE report and found that there were 8044 single-teacher primary schools, 5639 primary schools with less than 20 enrolment, and 3300 upper primary schools with less than 40 enrolment. To address this, the School Education Department constituted a Working Group to study Resource Redistribution–Rationalisation (RR-R) of schools. The analysis revealed that several primary schools within a 1 km radius had enrolment below 30. The Working Group recommended positive consolidation by pooling such schools and staff to develop Model Primary Schools at the Gram Panchayat or Municipality level. Further, the state temporarily closed zero-enrolment schools and redeployed teachers to schools with high Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) to ensure better resource utilisation.

Similarly, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra were facing the same issue. The existence of surplus schools has faced the issue of low enrolment and poor infrastructure. If children and resources spread in two or more small schools are combined within the habitation, it will not only provide a better teaching-learning environment but will also make schools RTE-compliant.

The Kerala Experience

Kerala is now in the final stages of school rationalisation. The issue first came into sharp focus in 2015- 16, when the then UDF government declared 5,715 schools as uneconomic due to falling student numbers. Many of these schools faced closure or mergers, sparking protests from teachers’ unions, school managements, and local communities. When the LDF government came to power, it chose a different path—strengthening rather than shutting down schools. Through the Public Education Rejuvenation Mission, the government encouraged people’s participation, redeployed teachers, and invested heavily in infrastructure. Over 45,000 hi-tech classrooms were set up, turning many schools into modern learning spaces. One inspiring example is the Government Upper Primary School, Cherayi, which was on the verge of closure due to poor enrolment. The local community rallied together with an admission campaign, raised funds, improved infrastructure, and saved the 98-year-old institution from shutting down.

The Government Lower Primary School at Pookkottur in Malappuram district had fewer than 200 students in 2015-16. Over the decade, the school had witnessed a steady decline in enrolment, primarily due to students opting for private English-medium schools. As a result, the school was on the verge of closure. However, the intervention of the parents’ teacher association played a crucial role in protecting and reviving the school. The PTA raised funds of 1.75 crore through the government, local self-governing bodies, MLA and MP Funds, as well as Contributions from residents, traders, and clubs in the locality. These resources were invested significantly in upgrading the school’s infrastructure, which helped attract students back. The PTA also worked to create awareness among parents about the importance of public education. This initiative was particularly vital for students from economically weaker sections, especially children of daily wage labourers, who could not afford private schooling. Had the school been shut down, it would have violated their right to education. The initiative of the community helped to revive the school from closure.

The Road Ahead: Consolidation and Challenges

The government’s current strategy is consolidation. Schools are being reorganised into two categories: Classes 1–8 as the primary section and Classes 9–12 as the secondary section. This model helps redeploy surplus teachers and ensures better use of resources. The teacher qualification requirements will also change. For Classes 8 to 12, a master’s degree will be mandatory. For Classes 5 to 7, the minimum qualification will be a bachelor’s degree. For Classes 1 to 4, the current requirement of Plus Two with D.El.Ed. will continue until 2030, after which a degree along with a professional qualification will be required.

Unification of high school, higher secondary, and vocational higher secondary departments under a new directorate of general education. All public examinations, including SSLC, Plus One, and Plus Two, will be handled by a new commissioner of exams. Schools will be headed by principals and the current headmaster as vice-principal. While the salary system remains unchanged. The opposition parties in Kerala are opposing the move, arguing that the government is implementing the reform before Dr. Khader committee’s report is completed. They also believe it will create additional burdens, as the higher secondary department alone has nine lakh students and could lead to administrative chaos. If vocational education is merged with formal education, the post of VHSE teachers may be eliminated. Vocational teachers are expected to be transferred to skill development centres and other schools.

But challenges remain. Kerala is facing declining birth rates, which means fewer children are entering schools. In 2024-25, as many as 1,197 schools had fewer than 25 students—452 in the government sector and 745 in the aided sector. Alarmingly, 34 government schools had fewer than 10 students on average, while the aided sector had 160 such schools (P.K.Manikandan, 2025).

Despite this, the number of uneconomic schools has been steadily falling thanks to the combined efforts of the government, teachers, and school management. The push now is not just about keeping schools open, but ensuring that they deliver quality education in an efficient, sustainable way.

The Big Picture

Kerala’s school rationalisation drive highlights a delicate balance: preserving access to education while ensuring that resources are not stretched thin. The state’s efforts—community campaigns, hi-tech classrooms, and consolidation—are seen as a model worth studying. Will school consolidation in Kerala be a good model to ensure quality education, or will it overburden teachers and reduce the quality of education, particularly at the cost of higher secondary students? Given that teachers already struggle to complete the syllabus on time due to administrative and other related duties. So, will this really be a good policy? Yet, the long-term challenge of declining student numbers means that rationalisation will remain a live debate for years to come.

Ms. Christina V J is a final-year M.Sc. Economics student at the School of Economics and Public Policy, RV University, Bengaluru, with a keen interest in education policy and social development. Dr. Aditya Kumar is an Assistant Professor at the same institution, specializing in public policy, education reform, and socio-economic research. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views or stance of the organization. The organization assumes no responsibility for the content shared.