Lucknow: Even after the Uttar Pradesh government cancelled the merger of over 5,000 schools, thousands of teachers have yet to return to their original postings. In Lucknow alone, around 40 primary and upper primary schools are functioning with only one teacher. Basic Education Officers are reportedly calling teachers personally to urge them to report back, while similar situations persist across districts including Unnao, Hardoi, and Shamli.
The Basic Education Department had merged schools with fewer than 50 students within a one-kilometre radius in July 2025. Teachers were accordingly transferred to the merged schools, and surplus staff were given options for inter-block or inter-district transfers. However, following legal and administrative reviews, the government revised its policy and reopened all previously merged schools.
After a petition filed by a student in Sitapur, the Allahabad High Court halted one such merger, prompting the government to amend its merger policy in September. The new order allowed school consolidation only within a three-kilometre radius instead of the earlier one-kilometre limit. Consequently, the earlier mergers were reversed, and affected teachers were expected to return to their original institutions.
According to Vinay Singh, state president of the Primary and Graduate Teachers’ Association, the June 30 transfer orders had relocated teachers far beyond the one-kilometre limit — in some cases up to eight kilometres away — due to administrative lapses. After the High Court’s ruling, the government reinstated the earlier schools, but many teachers who had secured transfers to other blocks or districts have chosen not to return.
In Lucknow, out of 160 schools initially merged, 120 now have teachers back in place, while 40 continue to face severe staff shortages. Singh added that some teachers claim they were not relieved mid-session from their new postings, which has delayed their return.
Departmental officers have begun issuing formal notices and making phone calls to ensure compliance with the reinstatement order. The government aims to fully restore staffing in all 5,000 reopened schools by the end of this academic term.
