The State Education Department has come up with a new ‘mantra’ called as the ‘composite school system’, aimed towards the optimum utilisation of human resources and facilities, decentralisation of power and increasing the education quality in the State.
 Under this new system, the department wants to go in for amalgamation of the primary, higher primary and high schools in such places where these three schools work in the same premises, or were very closeby.
After the amalgamation, such schools would be called as ‘composite high schools’. Officials in the Education Department told Deccan Herald here that at present there were three tires in school education, namely, primary, higher primary, and high school. Now, all these three would be amalgamated, and the ‘composite high schools’ would be formed. And this would be implemented from the coming academic year of 2007-08 itself.
The officials stated that orders had already been issued on May 4, creating such 521 ‘composite high schools’ in the State in places other than towns. In the second phase, this would be extended to the Cities and rural areas completely.
Consequently, BEd graduates would have to teach the students in fifth to seventh standards too, which was likely to increase the quality of education at the higher primary level. Nevertheless, even after the amalgamation, the promotions and the headmaster’s posts would continue as at present. However, only their powers are going to change. The respective Block Education Officers have already been directed to issue notifications regarding the creation of these ‘composite high schools’ in their respective areas by May 25.
As the school buildings, laboratories, library and other facilities would be coming under this ‘composite high school’, these could be utilised by the students from first to 10th standards. However, the school development & management committees (SDMCs) formed earlier for each schools would continue, but the ‘composite high school’ headmaster would be its secretary. And moreover, these headmasters would be responsible to take up different developmental activities under the Sarva Sikshana Abhiyan, Akshara Dasoha, school funds, and others.
In this ‘composite high school’, there would be only one admission, that is while getting admitted in the first standard. The same admission would continue till the student reaches the 10th standard. So far, new admissions had to be sought for every class and transfer certificate were needed during admissions to higher primary school and then at high schools. All these would be a thing of the past at the ‘composite high schools’.