Himachal Pradesh Shuts 450 Empty Schools, Merges 750 Others in Two Years

Himachal Pradesh has seen a big drop in student enrolment, leading the government to close or merge nearly 1,200 schools over the past two and a half years. Education Minister Rohit Thakur shared this update on Thursday.

What Happened?

Over 450 schools with no students at all were shut down.

750 more schools were merged due to very low student numbers.

The government says this reorganisation is part of a broader plan to improve the quality of education in the state. Schools with fewer than 25 students from Classes 6 to 12 may be merged as part of this policy. Around 100 more schools with zero enrolment may also be closed soon.

Staff Regularisation and New Hiring

The government has also regularised 778 part-time water carriers, who had worked for over 11 years in various temporary roles. They’ve now been given permanent Class IV positions—a long-awaited step for many.

To deal with the shortage of teachers, the government has approved the recruitment of 15,000 new teachers, including:

3,900 primary school teachers

3,100 other teaching posts through the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog (state selection board)

Thakur noted that teacher hiring had slowed under the previous BJP-led government. Now, efforts are being made to fill the gap.

Recruitment Progress So Far

700 school lecturers have been appointed so far (compared to 511 during the BJP’s full five-year term)

483 assistant professors have joined higher education institutes

Over 200 acting principals have been confirmed in their roles

The state is also recruiting 6,200 nursery teachers to strengthen early childhood education

Good News for Students

According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2025, government school students in Himachal Pradesh are among the best readers in the country. The state was also ranked as one of the top performers in school education across several key areas.