Gujarat fails to avail Centre's offer to open girls' schools

On Teacher’s Day this year, chief minister Narendra Modi made an appeal to the educated people to come forward and teach the illiterate of the state. But, he may be disappointed to know that the state education department failed to open 240 new girls' schools (secondary & higher secondary) and girls' hostels in the state's most educationally backward talukas, besides 10 new polytechnics which the state government had planned to start in the current academic year. All the projects have been delayed and stuck at various stages.

Highly-placed sources in the state government said, "Last year, the union government's human resources development department had identified 85 of 225 talukas of Gujarat as educationally backward blocks (EBB), where the girls' literacy rate was below 50%.

These 85 talukas cover 38% area of the state. The central government had launched a scheme to construct and run girls' hostel for students of secondary and higher secondary schools and set up model schools in the EBBs to boost the education in Gujarat."

Sources said the central government had asked the state to submit the projects to set up girls' hostels and model schools and promised to provide 75% grant under the scheme for construction of the hostels and schools and for their recurring expenses. The rest, 25% of the expenses, was to be borne by the state government.

"However, the state government failed to send the projects in time because of various reasons, mainly because code of conduct came into force after the Lok Sabha elections were announced and also some unnecessary delay by the district and state authorities.

Now many more months have passed and the state education department is still to finalise a plan," the sources said, adding that, "The state government has recently appointed a high-level committee to monitor the progress of the project. Now, theses schools will open only in the next academic year."

Similarly, the state government had planned to open around 10 new polytechnics and engineering colleges in public-private partnership (PPP) from current academic year, but according to the sources in the state government, this project also got delayed.

State education minister Ramanlal Vora had announced in state assembly early this year the opening of these polytechnics and colleges in PPP. He had earlier said that the institutions selected to run these colleges and polytechnics would be given land for 30 years at a token price of Re 1. The government will give Rs 10 crore for the college and Rs 5 crore for the polytechnic or half of the investment on the basis of whichever is less.