The Centre is right in saying that education falls under the Concurrent List and that school opening, merger or closure is a matter for the UT administration. If school consolidation is being done under NEP 2020, it must be judged by one simple test: has it improved learning without making children travel farther, drop out earlier, or lose the familiarity and safety of a nearby school? When a school closes, the burden does not vanish; it shifts to the child. The government says the NEP allows consolidation only when done judiciously and without compromising access to neighbourhood schools. Yet if the school network itself is shrinking so sharply, then infrastructure support alone is not enough.