Nearly 500 Girls May Quit Studies As Parents Oppose School Merger In MP’s Dhar

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): Parents of nearly 500 girls studying at Government Girls' Higher Secondary School No 4, Ghoda Chaupati, have warned they will stop sending their daughters to school if the institution's merger with Sandipani Boys' School goes ahead.

The parents said they chose this school specifically because it was for girls only. With the merger, their daughters would now have to study alongside boys, something many families said they cannot accept.

For them, it isn't a small adjustment. Several parents said clearly that they would rather pull their daughters out of school completely than let them attend classes with boys.

There is no other girls' higher secondary school nearby, so this decision could mean the end of formal education for many girls in the area, especially those coming from rural villages around Dhar.

Parents also pointed out that rules allow only schools with fewer than 100 students to be merged, while this school has around 500, raising questions about why the merger was approved at all.

On Wednesday, parents led by Jagdish Jat of Dilavara submitted a memorandum to the district collector, assistant commissioner (Tribal Affairs), the local MP, MLA and district panchayat president, demanding the merger be cancelled so their daughters' education is not cut short.