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

In Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, nearly 500 girls at Government Girls Higher Secondary School No 4, Ghoda Chaupati, face the possibility of quitting their studies if the school merges with Sandipani Boys School. Parents have vehemently opposed the merger, stating they chose the girls-only institution for that very reason. The merger would force their daughters to study with boys, a change many parents find unacceptable and potentially disruptive to their daughters' education.

Several parents have explicitly stated they would rather withdraw their daughters entirely from school rather than see them study alongside male classmates. With no other girls' higher secondary school in the vicinity, the decision to merge could result in the loss of formal education for many girls, particularly those from rural areas surrounding Dhar.

Furthermore, parents argue that the merger rules stipulate only schools with fewer than 100 students can be combined, yet the school in question houses around 500 students, raising questions about the legitimacy of the merger's approval. On Wednesday, a group of parents, led by Jagdish Jat from Dilavara, presented a memorandum to the district collector, tribal affairs assistant commissioner, local MP, MLA, and district panchayat president, urging the cancellation of the merger to preserve their daughters' education.