New Delhi: Two years after withdrawing its plan, the Railway Board has once again mooted a proposal to shut down its schools. In view of this, the Railway Board has sought a report from its zones for those schools which need to be essentially retained. However, the move is being opposed by railway unions citing reason of the non-availability of schools in far-flung areas.
In a letter written to the General Managers of Zonal Railways, the Railway Board mentioned that in order to rationalize the railway schools, it is being considered to bring down their numbers. Zonal Railways have been asked to assess the schools with relatively small number of Railway wards, along with an advised date for their closure/merger with other schools.
The Railway Board has also asked for a detailed justification for those schools which need to be essentially retained. The letter mentioned that efforts should be made not to cause any discomfort to the families of the children studying in these schools that will be closed/merged and also emphasized that no promotions in Group 'B'/ Senior scale/ Junior Administrative Grade are processed where rationalization of schools is being done. The report will have to be submitted by Thursday (November 4).
Currently, the Indian Railways is running 94 schools all across the country.
Speaking to ETV Bharat over the matter, General Secretary of All India Railwaymen Federation, Shiv Gopal Mishra said, "we had written a letter to Chairman Railway Board as this decision is not appropriate for those areas where schools are not available. Especially in the north-eastern region, our people work in far-flung areas where usually schools are not available. There are several schools where a good number of wards of railway and non-railway employees study.
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"In certain sections, there are not even Kendriya Vidyalayas, so will Railways establish new schools there? There are some Kendriya Vidyalayas which have been built on Railway land but they are not ready to give quota for Railway employees. So, until we get any assurance about the admission of our kids, we won't allow Ministry of Railways to take any such decision."
This decision is being taken in line with the recommendations given by Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal on Rationalization of Government Bodies under the Ministry of Railways. In this report, Sanyal mentioned that in the year 2019, 15,399 railway wards were enrolled in these schools, which is less than half of the total number of non-railway wards enrolled, i.e. 34,277.
The report stated that Indian Railways supports 87 Kendriya Vidyalayas where 33,212 railway wards and 55,386 mon-railway wards are enrolled. "Note that the total number of railway wards in the age bracket 4-18 years is 7,99,703 i.e. approximately 8 lakhs. Less than 2 percent of railway wards attend railway school," it added.
Mentioning the reasons for the establishment of these schools, the report said, "Historically, these schools were needed to be set up because there was a market failure in the areas where new railway lines and workshops were being built. The geographic generation of the railway schools is not necessarily concentrated in the most deprived parts of the country. Moreover, other schools including private ones now exist in places where there are Railway colonies."
Sanyal suggested in his report that where possible, railways schools be brought under Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan with a quota for the children for railway employees as Indian Railways supports 87 KVS all across the nation. This was also recommend by Bibek Debroy Committee on Restructuring Railways.
