State's education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said at a public event that Gujarat is a model state in many sectors, but not education. It appears that the minister was only being honest. A peek into the government's records on the shortage of teachers, the poor state of schools, and lack of facilities paints a sorry picture of the state of education in Gujarat.
The information provided by the education minister in the Assembly, in response to an unstarred question recently, shows that as of September 2018, there were as many as 4,033 government primary schools in the state which had dilapidated classrooms. The number of such classrooms exceeds 12,000.
The minister also said that as many as 11,376 primary schools have sheeted roof, while the number of such classrooms is 38,700.
These schools are not limited to remote or backward parts of the state. As statistics show, dilapidated schools and classrooms exist in the cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and even in the state capital of Gandhinagar.
No playground in 9,000 schools
Although the government has been organising the annual Khel Mahakumbh over the past few years and making tall claims about promoting the culture of sports, data reveals that in reality, it is only a claim.
The education minister's reply to another question showed that 6,977 government primary schools, as of March 2018, did not have a playground.
One would imagine that the problem is limited to government schools, but the reply shows that more than 1,750 private primary schools in the state also do not have a playground. Ahmedabad is home to as many as 676 such primary schools, followed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's hometown Rajkot with 341 such schools.
The figures showed that 221 government secondary schools and 14 private secondary schools did not have a playground as of March 2018.
6,500 schools have no compound wall
Another of the minister's replies showed that as many 6,528 government primary schools do not have a compound wall. These schools were spread out across the state with Banaskantha home to 733 of them. Chhota Udepur with 501, Dahod (401), Kutch (397), Kheda (392), and Mahisagar (363) were some of the other districts with a high number of such schools.
However, there was not a single government primary school without drinking water or toilet facilities.
8,600 unqualified teachers in private schools
More than 8,600 teachers serving in private non-granted schools lack the required qualification as per the Right to Education Act, according to a reply to another unstarred question by the minister. Private non-granted schools would include the top private ones. Ahmedabad accounted for the highest number of such teachers, according to the reply.
20 schools power-less
For a state that was among the first in the country to become power surplus, it is shocking that there is no electricity in 20 government schools. Eight of these schools are in Porbandar, four in Morbi, and two in Banaskantha and Surendranagar each. The reply said that some of these schools were located in forest areas, while some of the schools were new ones. It also said that electricity connections would be provided to these schools at the earliest.
FUTURE OF STATE AT STAKE
8,600 teachers in private non-granted schools lack qualifications
FACT CHECK
- Primary govt schools without a playground – 6,977
- Private primary schools without a playground – 1,751
- Secondary government schools without playground – 221
- Private secondary schools without playground – 14
- Govt primary schools without electricity – 20
- Primary schools without a compound wall – 652
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