Bhubaneswar, July 18: The school and mass education department has decided to act tough on schools that have performed poorly in the 2013 annual matriculation exam.

In a bid to inculcate seriousness about the quality of education being provided in the institutions, the department has decided to initiate disciplinary action against headmasters of government schools which have produced zero results.

As many as 65 schools, including 35 government schools have produced zero results. The list also includes five schools receiving block grant, one aided schools and 24 schools not receiving grant-in-aid.

It has also been decided to issue showcause notices to the schools which have performed poorly in the matriculation exam, said an official of the department.

This apart, action will also be initiated against schools where the pass percentage has been less and aids and grants will be stopped to aided high Schools and block grant schools that have scored bad results.

The department is also mulling the closure of as many as 5,503 primary schools that have student strength below 25. “The closure will be for primary schools alone. We are planning to accommodate these students in the nearby schools,” said school and mass education secretary Usha Padhee.

“This way, we can strengthen the teacher-student ratio and infrastructure in schools,” she said. There are a total of 51,300 primary schools in the State of which 5503 schools have less than 25 students.