Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 12 (NationPress) The revelation by the Centre in Parliament that 201 government schools in Kerala have been closed over the past two years has ignited a political controversy, prompting the opposition Congress to seek answers from the state government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.

In response to a query from MP K. Radhakrishnan in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary disclosed that the total number of government schools in Kerala decreased from 5,014 in April 2021 to 4,809 by March 2024.

This data is part of a broader report outlining shifts in the number of government schools across all states and Union Territories from the academic years 2019–20 to 2023–24.

The announcement elicited strong reactions from former Congress legislator V.T. Balram, an ally of Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who questioned the validity of such a statistic being presented in Parliament without immediate rebuttal from the Kerala government.

“Is it true that the number of government schools in Kerala is actually declining? A drop of 201 schools within just two years—spanning 2021–22 to 2023–24—seems implausible at first glance,” he remarked.

Balram also expressed skepticism about the methodology behind the Centre’s data, questioning whether aided schools were inadvertently counted in the total.

He called on State Education Minister V. Sivankutty to address the public and clarify the situation.

“The Education Department needs to confirm whether this is an accurate depiction of reality or a misinterpretation of the data,” Balram stated.

The Union government’s data also outlined the number of government schools closed nationwide, illustrating that the trend is not unique to Kerala.

Nevertheless, the magnitude of the reported decline in Kerala has attracted specific attention due to the state's well-established reputation for a robust public education system.

This issue has now emerged as a political flashpoint, with the Opposition accusing the state government of failing to either prevent closures or adequately contest misleading statistics.

Stakeholders in the education sector argue that if these figures are accurate, they raise significant concerns regarding access to education in rural areas and the state’s dedication to public schooling.

The distinction between actual school closures and mere classification adjustments remains uncertain, with increasing pressure on the Kerala government to clarify the facts ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections.