Not a Single Government School Shut in Kerala in Ten Years Under LDF Govt, Says M Swaraj

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) state secretariat member M Swaraj has said that the closure of nearly one lakh schools across the country stands in sharp contrast to Kerala's record under the LDF government, which has not shut a single government school in the past decade.

Swaraj pointed out that data indicates nearly one lakh government schools have been closed across India over the last ten years. Thousands of government schools have been shut in Congress-governed states such as Karnataka and Telangana as well, he noted, adding that both Congress and BJP follow an identical approach towards public education.

"The position adopted by both Congress and BJP is the same — close schools that are not profitable, close schools where enrolment is low, close schools to cut costs," he said.

Swaraj recalled that when the UDF left office in 2016, a proposal recommending the closure of 40 per cent of Kerala's government schools was under active consideration. The UDF government had in fact attempted to implement such closures years earlier, triggering widespread protests. Had the LDF not come to power at that juncture, he said, nearly half of Kerala's government schools would have been shut down by now.

Swaraj stressed that the LDF does not view education through the lens of profitability, and that not a single government school has been closed in the state during the past ten years.