LUCKNOW, July 3 -- The UP government's decision to merge primary and upper primary schools having less than 50 enrolled students is snowballing into a political row with opposition leaders labelling the move as "anti-poor and detrimental to education policy". Addressing party workers in Lucknow on Wednesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said: "Under this government, education system is in a bad state ...it is promoting privatisation. The BJP government is closing 5000 primary schools in the state as part of a conspiracy. These are the same schools that were made booths during elections and the BJP is continuously losing. If such a large number of schools are closed, where will the poor children study...how will the daughters go to study in far-off schools." On June 24, he took to social media urging the government not to reduce the number of schools on the pretext of school merger. His post read: "On one hand, the BJP is not giving jobs to teachers; on the other hand, by reducing the number of schools, it is scheming to snatch the jobs of those who are already employed. The BJP and their associates are building lavish offices all over the country, but they are shutting down schools.." While NSUI leaders staged a protest over the merger plan on Tuesday, UPCC chief Ajay Rai is likely to hand over a memorandum at the collectorate office in this regard on Thursday. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati also took pot shots at the school merger plan on Wednesday, saying it will be injustice to millions of poor children who receive accessible and affordable education near their homes. However, she is hopeful that the government will certainly consider revising this decision with empathy. Apni Janata Party chief Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday took criticised the BJP government in UP over its recent decision to merge schools with less than 50 students, alleging it was an attempt to hand over education into private hands. "AAP will not allow the government to shut down schools and will fight to protect the education of children," Sanjay Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and state in-charge of the party, told media persons recently. There are 1.40 lakh government primary and upper primary schools in the state, out of which 29,000 have 50 or fewer students, an official said. "Around 89,000 teachers are posted in these schools. The broader plan is to shift students from low-enrolment schools to nearby institutions with better facilities," the official added....