NEW DELHI/SONBHADRA — A scathing report by Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan and Yuva Manch has accused the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government of enforcing an education policy that systematically discriminates against Dalit and Adivasi communities. The closure and merger of government primary schools across the state citing “low enrolment” has led to severe consequences in the tribal-dominated Duddhi tehsil of Sonbhadra district, where mass dropouts, crumbling infrastructure, and desperate parents highlight a deepening crisis of educational neglect.
The fact-finding team’s report comes amid a major political and legal stir over the Yogi Adityanath government’s June 16 order to close primary schools, ostensibly due to “low enrollment.” On Friday, the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, stayed the implementation of the order in Sitapur district until August 21, recognising the potential violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 — which guarantees free and quality education to all children aged 6–14.
But in Sonbhadra, especially in Duddhi, the damage is already underway — and activists say it reflects a deep-seated caste and communal bias in the ruling establishment’s approach to education.
Dalit, Adivasi Children First to Suffer
Across Uttar Pradesh, more than 10,000 schools have already been shut, with estimates suggesting 27,000 more may follow. These closures disproportionately affect Dalit and tribal communities, who depend on the public school system for access to education.
The Duddhi region — home to Gond, Baiga, Kharwar and other Adivasi communities — is particularly vulnerable. The survey found schools with only one teacher, lacking toilets, clean water, or even furniture, yet being shuttered or merged with far-off institutions. For small children in hilly terrain, walking several kilometers is not just difficult — it’s educational exclusion by design.
“This government wants to drive Adivasi children out of classrooms and into child labour,” said Kripashankar Panika, one of the surveyors. “It’s a deliberate policy of Brahmanical neglect.”
Grassroots Voices: ‘Bachpan Band Ho Raha Hai’
In Primary School, Khaledih, with 48 enrolled children from Gond, Baiga, and backward castes like Kewat and Yadav, only one teacher runs all classes. The merger school is over 2.5 km away — a journey unthinkable for 6-year-olds. “Small children cannot walk that far. If this school closes, our children will drop out,” said Hiraman Gond, echoing a fear repeated across Duddhi.
At Dakshin Basti Khairahi, parents had rushed to increase enrollment beyond 50 to avoid shutdown. “We need more teachers, not school closures,” said Indravati Gond, frustrated with the government’s apathy and caste-blind policies.
In Bartola Kirwani, children from Gond, Baiga, Dalit, and OBC backgrounds sit on mats in classrooms with no furniture or fans. “They treat our children like they don’t deserve dignity,” said Vijay Kumar Kushwaha, a local resident. “Would the children of ministers study like this?”
‘BJP-RSS Agenda Targets Public Education’
Activists say the school closures are part of a larger ideological shift under BJP-RSS rule that seeks to dismantle the public education system and relegate marginalised communities to the margins.
“This is not just budget cuts. This is caste-engineered educational apartheid,” said Savita Gond, district coordinator of Yuva Manch. “By shutting down schools in tribal belts, the BJP-RSS is ensuring that Dalit and Adivasi children are kept out of the path to empowerment.”
Several teachers and parents in the report accused the state of privatising education by stealth — hollowing out government schools so that poor families are pushed toward unaffordable private institutions or drop out altogether.
High Court Relief Offers Hope — But Pressure Mounts
The Allahabad High Court’s stay on the Sitapur order has been welcomed by activists, but they stress that thousands of tribal children are already suffering in other districts like Sonbhadra. The survey team has sent a memorandum to the state government demanding an immediate halt to closures in backward and tribal regions, and instead, investment in infrastructure and staffing.
Their key demands include:
Immediate reversal of school closures in tribal and Dalit-dominated areas
Appointment of qualified teachers and support staff in each primary school
Basic infrastructure like clean drinking water, toilets, furniture, and classrooms
High schools and intermediate colleges within 10 km of every village cluster
A residential government degree college for tribal girls in Duddhi tehsil
“Education is not charity, it is our right,” said Ruby Singh Gond, a member of the team. “But under this government, that right is being systematically crushed.”
“Exclusion by Policy, Not Accident”
Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan and Yuva Manch assert that the current policy is not just a bureaucratic failure — it is a calculated strategy to keep marginalised communities away from education, and thereby, power.
“This is how the BJP-RSS defines ‘development’ — temples on one side, bulldozers on the other, and schools in Adivasi villages being shut down,” said Indradev Kharwar, another survey member. “We are witnessing the saffronisation of the education policy — one that is anti-poor, anti-Dalit, and anti-Adivasi.”
With the court scheduled to hear the case again in August, activists hope for broader judicial intervention. But on the ground, in the villages of Sonbhadra, children are already being pushed out of classrooms, and their futures are dimming.
For the people of Duddhi, the fight is not just for schools — it’s a struggle against caste based prejudice.
