Shimla: The Government of Himachal Pradesh has formally implemented its pioneering ‘School Cluster System’ across the state, marking a significant step toward ending the long-standing isolation of rural standalone schools. The initiative aims to ensure equitable access to quality education for every child, regardless of their geographical location or the size of their local school.
Under the strategic resource consolidation and infrastructure framework, every Senior Secondary School will play the role of a leading School and all the adjoining 7 to 8 High, Middle and Primary Schools have been brought under the overall administrative control of the Principal of concerned leading School. The Principals have been entrusted the responsibility of quality improvement right from Pre-Primary up to 12th class.
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that the State has a total of 1968 School Clusters across the state. Under the initiative the schools within a complex/cluster are sharing resources jointly allowing students from smaller satellite schools to benefit from advanced facilities at the Hub schools, including modern ICT laboratories, well-equipped science labs, libraries and multi-purpose sports complexes.
“By adopting this Hub-and-Spoke model, the state seeks to provide a resource-rich, high-quality educational experience to every child, bridging the gap between remote rural schools and larger urban institutions,” stated Sukhu.
The Chief Minister recalled that when the present government came to power, many schools had very low enrollment. During the previous BJP tenure, multiple buildings and institutions were constructed without scientific planning, putting a huge burden on the State exchequer.
Streamlining the same the government either denotified or merged the schools. As many as 17 Primary Schools & 20 Middle Schools having enrollment of ten or less, were opened during the last six months of the previous government, reportedly for political purposes only.
The current government conducted a comprehensive review and carried out school consolidation and restructuring. As a result till December 31, 2025, around 770 primary and middle schools having zero enrollments have been denotified and 532 primary and middle schools having enrollment less than 5 and another school within 2 to 3 Kms have been merged with the nearby Schools. In addition to this, 21 Senior Secondary Schools & 21 High Schools have also been downgraded/denotified due to their low enrollment.
It was observed that in some schools, four to five teachers were appointed, while the student strength was two or fewer. “The education system had completely collapsed during the BJP regime,” he reiterated. The BJP opened 14 Government Senior Secondary Schools & 15 Govt High Schools with fewer enrollment in the last six months of their rule, calling it a misuse of public funds, which were denotified.
The present government focused on structural efficiency rather than merely constructing new schools. The merger and rationalization model ensured better teacher-to-student ratios and concentrated access to resources such as smart classrooms and laboratories at effective locations. Teachers were redeployed from overstaffed urban schools to remote areas, ensuring that vacancies were filled according to actual student needs.
English has been introduced as a medium of instruction from Grade I, bridging the perceived gap between government and private education. The phased rollout of modern Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools in every assembly constituency would further raise the standard of public education infrastructure. The state also initiated exposure visits for selected teachers and students to international institutions to adopt global best practices.
As a result of these measures, Himachal Pradesh achieved a remarkable improvement in the National Achievement Survey (NAS), rising from 21st to 5th position in June 2025.
Through the School Cluster System, the Government of Himachal Pradesh is modernizing education, strengthening community bonds, and promoting holistic development among students, thereby laying a strong foundation for the state’s future generations.
