Mumbai, Dec. 1 -- Fifteen organisations representing school teachers in Maharashtra have called for a statewide "school shutdown" on December 5, to protest against implementation of the state government's new Sanch Manyata policy for appointment of teachers. Nearly 18,000 schools could face closure and 20,000-25,000 teachers and administrative staff could be rendered jobless under the "disruptive and harmful" policy, threatening the future of government-aided education, especially in rural and hilly regions, the organisations said. The state school education department had, on March 15, 2024, issued a government resolution (GR) notifying the Sanch Manyata policy, which introduced group recognition of schools and barred allocation of teachers to schools with fewer than 20 students. Unions representing teachers and non-teaching staff fear that once the implementation process is completed on December 5, thousands of teachers will become redundant and hundreds of aided schools will shut down The impact is already visible in Sindhudurg district, where the district education officer has ordered closure of 39 schools and begun shifting students to nearby institutions. "The move will force many children to travel 10-15 kilometres every day," said Shamshuddin Attar, conveyer of the Sindhudurg Principals' Association. "We are opposing the move, and have decided to challenge it in the Supreme Court." Though the Bombay High Court had earlier upheld the March 2024 GR, the association argues that the policy will cause severe disruption in areas with difficult terrain. "Even though the high court clarified that no teacher would lose their job directly due to Sanch Manyata, the reality is that students will suffer, particularly in hilly and remote villages where schools are already struggling," Attar said. Unions that have issued the shutdown call have also flagged other concerns with the new policy. The provision that denies subject teachers for classes 9 and 10 is "unfair and harmful to poor children", said Vijay Kombe, president, Maharashtra Rajya Prathmik Shikshak Samitee. "On December 5, we will also be opposing the compulsory TET (teachers' eligibility test) requirement for teachers, especially for those nearing retirement," Kombe said. Maharashtra State Shikshak Sena president and legislative council member from Mumbai teachers constituency, JM Abhyankar, has written to schools across the state, urging them to remain closed on December 5 to show collective opposition. As many as 10,000 teachers working in classes 9-10 would be pushed into surplus category, while thousands of schools with students in classes 6-8 would be left with only one or two teachers per school, Abhyankar said. In nearly 5,000 schools, there would be no teacher for class 5. "In all, 20,000-25,000 posts, including principals, deputy principals, and supervisors, may become redundant once the policy is implemented," Abhyankar said. In the city, the policy could lead to the closure of 25-30 night schools, he added. Meanwhile, on Saturday, school education commissioner Satinder Pratap Singh issued an order temporarily halting the process of shutting down schools based on current student numbers. Adjustments of teachers and students were being done using 2024-25 data, he claimed. Anil Bornare, president (north division), Mumbai Principals' Association said they were seeking cancellation of the March 2024 GR. "The commissioner of the department has stayed the ongoing process for the time being. But the process will resume after the final 2025-26 academic year figures are available," he warned....