Berhampur, Aug. 7: The state government plans to merge the two upper primary schools - one that is all-boys and the other that is all-girls - in Dura village, in the outskirts of the city.
The schools - Dura Girls' UP School and Dura Boys' UP School - were set up during the British rule.
The state has introduced co-education at primary, high school and college levels. However, the old system is still prevalent in the two primary schools, located within 100 metres of each other in the same village.
"Dura Boys' UP School, for students of classes I to V, was established in 1917," said Minati Padhi, the headmistress in-charge.
"At present, it has 52 students on its roll with two teachers," Padhi said.
"The girls' school was established in 1922, five years after the boys' school. Now, we have 61 students in classes I to V," said headmistress Purnima Mishra, who has been posted at the school for the past four years.
Ganjam's district education officer Sanatan Panda said there was a proposal to merge the two schools. "We are trying to take this step on administrative grounds," Panda said.
Sukumari Padhi, a member of the Parent-Teachers' Association at Dura Boys' UP School, however, was not in favour of co-education at the primary level. Her son Kaushik is a Class-IV student of the school.
Anantram Kar, a researcher on Ganjam culture, said: "During the British period, though the government favoured coeducation and education for girls, the society vehemently opposed it."
The National High School, Government Vocational Junior College, Saraswati Bidya Mandir and Ram Narayan College in Dura village already follow a coeducational system.