Ahmedabad: The district education officer (DEO) began proceedings to reduce classes in granted secondary and higher secondary schools where student numbers in Classes 9 to 12 failed to meet the required norms.

In the first round, hearings were conducted on Saturday for 16 schools that applied for class reduction after their student strength fell below the prescribed limits set by the state education department. Following this, hearings for 13 additional schools have been scheduled for Sep 23.

With these two rounds combined, a total of 29 schools in Ahmedabad city are now facing potential class reductions. The DEO earlier issued letters instructing school principals to submit applications for class reductions if they were unable to maintain student strength as per govt rules. Many schools subsequently filed such requests.

Among the schools listed for the Sep 23 hearing are Damubhai Shukla High School in Paldi, Sabarmati Kanya Vidyalaya in Sabarmati, J L High School in Maninagar, and Geeta Vidyalaya in Amraiwadi.

Officials said that final orders on class reductions will be issued after the hearings conclude. The move is part of the state’s effort to rationalise resources and ensure compliance with enrolment norms in aided schools.