Itanagar, Dec 2 (IANS): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday said that in a bid to improve the quality of education, more than 600 schools have been shut down in the state during the last 9 years.

Addressing a public meeting at Logum Jini, Aalo in West Siang district, the Chief Minister announced that more schools would be closed in the coming days.

Preferring quality for quantity, Khandu said that the number of schools does not matter but quality of education does.

In fact, he pointed out that the huge number of government schools in the state had led to a deterioration in the quality of education.

"You will be surprised that in the last 9 years, we have shut down more than 600 schools," he told the gathering.

Khandu said that brainstorming sessions or ‘Chintan Shivirs’ are being conducted across the state headed by Education Minister P.D. Sona and his advisor Mutchu Mithi to understand and document core issues in the department and ways and means to resolve them.

He said that once these sessions are completed, a comprehensive report with recommendations would be submitted to the state government for further action.

"I promise that recommended reforms would be 100 per cent implemented on the ground," Khandu assured.

The government, he said, will focus on Inter Village schools equipping them with all facilities like hostels, teachers and staff and modern teaching methods. To successfully implement the reforms, some of which, he claimed may be hard or harsh, Khandu sought the support and cooperation of the people.

While mentioning the increasing revenue collection in the state exchequer, the Chief Minister reiterated that the state’s revenue generation is slated for a massive upward trend in the coming years.