Bhiwandi: While gram panchayats in rural Maharashtra are taking proactive steps to strengthen government schools, municipal corporations in urban areas appear to be moving in the opposite direction by shutting down civic-run institutions under the pretext of “school integration”. The contrasting approaches have triggered a wider debate on the future of public education.
In a notable initiative, the Kalwar Gram Panchayat in Bhiwandi taluka has announced a strong incentive-based policy to counter falling enrolment in Zilla Parishad schools. Sarpanch Mahesh Mahatre declared that from June 1, 2026, parents who admit their children to the village’s Zilla Parishad (government) school will be granted a 100 per cent waiver on house property tax.
The decision aims to revive the government school system at the grassroots level, restore parental confidence and ensure the survival of affordable, quality education in rural areas. Mahatre stated that declining student strength in government schools has become a serious concern and requires practical solutions rather than symbolic assurances. He urged the state government to grant administrative approval to the decision so that the model can be implemented across other villages.
The gram panchayat’s move stands in sharp contrast to the policy being pursued by municipal corporations in cities, where civic schools are increasingly being “merged” or “relocated”, often resulting in their closure. Education activists argue that this approach is weakening the public education framework and limiting access to nearby schooling for children from economically weaker and middle-class families.Teachers at the Kalwar Zilla Parishad School, Alankar Warghede and Prashant Bhosale, hailed the decision as forward-looking and necessary. They said that protecting the Marathi language and safeguarding government schools require sustained encouragement and institutional support. “If a gram panchayat can revive schools through incentives, larger civic bodies should reconsider policies that lead to closures,” they said.
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Education experts believe the Kalwar initiative has the potential to become a state-level replicable model, demonstrating that government schools can be strengthened with community participation and administrative will.The divergent policies have raised a critical question: will municipal corporations continue with consolidation-driven closures, or will they adopt development-focused strategies to preserve and promote public education?
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