In the remote village of Karapadi, nestled in Odisha’s southern Rayagada district, Laxman Kalaka, a 45-year-old mason, toils under the sun, laying bricks for a new community building. Meanwhile, his three children, all under 13, roam the dusty paths. Their days are spent playing, exploring the nearby forest, and, crucially, not attending school.
Laxman’s eldest son, at just 13, already quit school after facing ridicule for bedwetting at a residential institution run by the ST and SC Development Department. His six-year-old daughter, on the other hand, is simply too young to make the 1.5 km trek alone to the nearest open school in a neighboring village.
A distraught Mr. Kalaka shares his dilemma: ‘My daughter will either attend a distant hostel and navigate education on her own, or she’ll remain illiterate. I fear the same future for my youngest son. If only our village school hadn’t closed, my children could have learned while staying right here with us.’
The once-vibrant Government Primary School in Karapadi, part of the Bissamcuttack block, was shuttered in 2017–18, a casualty of the state’s policy to close schools with under 20 students. Its classrooms, once filled with eager learners, now serve as an election booth and a convenient storage space for local residents.
Just two kilometers away, the Kumbia New Primary School remains locked, its three rooms only seeing life during harvest season when villagers use it to store paddy. This village, like Karapadi, is also home to many children whose education has been put on hold.
Image: A closed Government Primary School in Hikiriguda village, Rayagada district.
The Patapadar Upper Primary School, a mere two kilometers further, managed to avoid closure, though it struggles with 45 students across eight classes and only four teachers. Sadly, the Madhuaguda New Primary School wasn’t as fortunate, having closed its doors in 2016–17.
Within the Sahada Gram Panchayat in Bissamcuttack block, an area spanning almost 60 square kilometers, six schools have been closed since 2016–17. The situation is dire across the region: Bissamcuttack block itself has seen 40 schools shut down, while the entire Rayagada district accounts for nearly 400 closures in the same timeframe. Across Odisha, thousands of schools have suffered a similar fate.
The Policy: ‘School Rationalisation’
Government figures reveal a staggering 10,000 schools have been closed or merged with neighboring institutions since 2013. In March 2025, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond informed the State Assembly that 5,632 schools were closed in the last five years alone, with Rayagada district accounting for 121 of them.
While the Odisha government frames these actions as ‘school rationalisation and reorganisation,’ for families like Laxman Kalaka’s in Karapadi, it represents a much harsher reality: the tragic loss of a child’s fundamental right to education within their own community.
These closures have been particularly devastating in Odisha’s remote, tribal-dominated regions. Here, private education providers find little incentive to establish schools, leaving financially struggling parents with government institutions as their sole hope for their children’s learning journey.
Too Young, Too Far: The Hostel Dilemma
For many in areas like Bissamcuttack, residential schools operated by the SC and ST Development Department are often the only path to education. These institutions provide free uniforms, textbooks, meals, and lodging, offering a vital lifeline by alleviating parents’ financial burdens and ensuring access to basic schooling.
Janes Urlaka, a young mother from Hikiriguda village, where the primary school was closed years ago, voices her profound concern: ‘Sending a child to a hostel carries inherent risks. I have a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. While I know five is far too young to be away, we feel utterly helpless.’ Her young daughter is already learning to wash her clothes, preparing for a life she shouldn’t have to face so soon.
Overstretched Resources and Understaffed Classrooms
In Bissamcuttack, chronic teacher absenteeism and inadequate infrastructure have made local schools unappealing. Nakula Mundik of Kumbhia village explains, ‘As soon as children approach five, parents desperately seek admission to government residential schools, even if it means sending their kids far away. A school within our village would have changed everything; parents wouldn’t feel this overwhelming sense of desperation.’
The residential schools that remain are severely overcrowded. For example, the Government Residential School at Padabai, which serves communities like Kumbhia, Hikiriguda, Karapadi, and Madhuaguda (all impacted by local school closures), has only three teachers, including the headmaster, and a single matron for 309 students—280 of whom are young boarders. This severe understaffing means teachers are overwhelmed with hostel duties, leaving scant time for actual teaching.
A Staggering Rise in Dropout Rates
In Sahada panchayat of Bissamcuttack block, where the majority of parents are daily wage earners, the responsibility of child care is effectively offloaded onto these residential schools. Predictably, many students struggle and lose motivation, abandoning their studies midway.
Anil Pradhan, a Right to Education activist, laments the situation: ‘A local school would have allowed teachers to supervise children while parents were at work. But when a school closes, parents often find it impossible to ensure their children consistently attend a distant one.’
The devastating consequences are starkly visible in the dropout statistics. From 2021 to 2022, annual dropouts were minimal, often in single or low double digits. However, this year, Bissamcuttack block alone recorded a shocking 1,319 dropouts, with only 51 managing to return to school. Across Rayagada district, the number exploded to 18,251 in 2025–26, a dramatic increase from fewer than 100 in each of the preceding four academic years.
Pradhan asserts that closing schools in Scheduled Areas, where most children are pioneering learners, is a grave misjudgment. He argues, ‘The government’s reliance on UDISE enrollment data for closure decisions is flawed. They must engage communities, parents, and local leaders before implementing such impactful policies.’