Bhubaneswar, Sept. 8: The school and mass education department today issued showcause notices to 195 primary and upper primary schools that have less than five students on their rolls, asking them to explain why they should not be closed down.

These schools with low attendance were picked up on the basis of the District Information System for Education data of the past few years.

Officials of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan project in the districts were asked to inspect these institutions and provide a report. “It was found that these schools reported very low enrolment for years at a stretch. We have written to the schools,” said school and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra.

Mishra said the course of action would be decided only after the replies from the schools were received. Students of the schools, which will be shut down, can be accommodated in other nearby schools.

An official said such schools posed several problems for the government. “The department has to face problems in providing teachers, midday meals and other logistics according to the provisions of the Right to Education Act, which provides for free and compulsory education for children between six and 14 years of age,” said a senior official.

Rayagada district has 19 schools with less than five students. Kandhamal and Sundargarh have 10 schools each with less than five students. Koraput, Khurda, Sambalpur and Sonepur have eight such schools and Balangir and Boudh six each. Each of Angul, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Bargarh has five such schools, while Cuttack has four. Kalahandi has three, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar have two each and Deogarh has one such school.

Despite measures such as welcome festivals and sensitisation campaigns for education, enrolment into primary schools in the state continues to dip. Enrolment in Class I to VIII dipped by around 97,000 in 2012, said an official in the higher education department. While 65.19 lakh students enrolled in 2011, only 64.22 lakh students took admission in 2012.